The Coconut Man That Bore More Coconut Sense

JACK D MAJIK DRAGON·THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

The first time I personally met the man, Mr. Francis Perez Rubio, during the 1st World Coconut Congress (32nd National Coconut Week Aug. 14-16, 2018) at the SMX Convention Center, where he allocated a booth section to exhibit his all coconut products and by-products that encounter sparked our kindred spirits, so he paid me a friendly visit in my domicile, tagging along with him a beautiful chauffeur, with a face and total package that might distract you while reading this.

The ties that bind us is the humble beginning of being both a recipient of the Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos Scholarship Grant in the early 1980’s, which made our college education fulfilled and liberated us from the shackles of poverty. So we call ourselves “Kabuko”. And we are both proud breathing anything about coconut.

But Francis is a unique Kabuko, because he pursued his “pay forward” initiative right into the heart of promoting the coconut industry, helping his immediate coconut community generate livelihood and further enriching research and development of his coco products to optimize the varied health benefits for the consumers (

He had developed over the years quality coconut products galore complete with elegant and export quality packaging, but I took special note of his flagship product, the “Virgin Coconut Oil” or VCO.

While Francis is discussing about his Greenlife products over our dinner table, I realized that his vco product is now a far cry of superior quality than that of other vcos proliferating in the local market.

I would rather take off from calling it a mere vco product, and to banner its name in bold capital letters as MCT-vco. The label says it is high in Lauric Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT) Oil.

Even if I do not fully comprehend the technical and chemical composition of it, my instinct is enough to understand it is of premium quality because it does not solidify naturally, unless below temperature of 17 degrees centigrade. With business sense, it commands a price three times higher than ordinary vcos.

Ironically, this MCT-vco product is now much in demand in China and other foreign markets, who already realized its health benefits and properties, such as anti-oxidant, anti-fugal, anti-biotic, and anti-viral. Whereas, our Philippine local market should be the first to know and patronize them because we are a tropical coconut producing island. Well, the same story why the Americans are not fond of there own apples, so the Filipinos realized the health benefits of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.

Greenlife products are already on export market, but that small enterprise can not attack aggressively because it can not cope up yet with the huge demand when the door would be fully opened. Such predicament is on the top list of Kabuko Francis Perez Rubio, the CEO of Greenlife Coconut Products. The latest development is that he is underway in acquiring bigger space and putting up the needed machines to boost volume production geared to meet the export demand.

For the meantime, I advised Francis to develop local markets. Make a mailing list of all SPAs, take advantage of the local tourism phenomena in the country where scents and oils are relaxation essentials, find a niche in the growing health consciousness of the new age of Filipinos. If MCT is anti-viral, make it viral in the internet.

There were many subjects that we had taken up, but let me summarize them that it boils down to matters of “Economic Activity”, which also means to entail business opportunity.

Greenlife is home to all coconut products. There’s an open window for everyone, more akinly to fellow Kabukos, who may be interested to put up a reselling enterprise. Or be an investor or even a seasonal investor with very certain terms and conditions that I shared with Francis to adapt, just like what I have gone through.

We have been talking straight for about 7 hours, but I can not emptied the seemingly bottomless spring of ideas from the coconut head of Francis, so I bid him to hold the microphone and face the videoke, but he shortly loss air. That is how we finished our session at 2:00 AM.

Today, I am returning Francis and beautiful daughter’s visit. Shortly, I will be heading to his Greenlife’s office at KM144, Brgy. Wakas, Tayabas City.