Goya Dark Mint as Pasalubong

In the Filipino culture, there is a concept called "pasalubong". It's the traditional practice of giving a gift to your host, friends or family when you arrive at another city or place. Actually, the gift itself is also called the pasalubong. It is a tradition that is so much a part of the Filipino culture.

For so many years, expats and migrant workers bring along an extra bag or balikbayan box just for the gifts. Travelers and vacationers who go to other countries do the same thing. But there's never been a local brand of chocolates yet that can stand head to head with the likes of Hersheys, Ferrero Rocher or Milka, that travelers can bring to other countries.

Flashback fifteen plus years ago. Kids then loved Goya, that local brand that brought us Curly Tops and Flat Tops. There was no need to refrigerate them so even the neighborhood tiangge had it. It was cheap too.

Now back to the present time, where everyone has been blogging and twitting about the new Goya Dark Mint (dark chocolates with mint). Or maybe it's not new, maybe it's been there for some time now and it just slowly entered the conversation. Whatever. People love it, I love it and there's been a mad rush ever since to find them. One Dark Mint-holic from Davao went grocery shopping last week and when she saw no Goya Dark Mints, she panicked and thought they ran out of it. It turns out they just transferred it to another shelf.

The new Goya Dark Mint comes in an export-ready packaging and it's only PHP25.50 (at Landmark). Are we witnessing the rebirth of the Goya brand?

There have been a lot of people who have been saying that they will bring this as a pasalubong when they go to other countries. It doesn't really matter what you bring as a gift. As they say, it's the thought that counts. It's the fact that you thought about giving something to your friends and family. Different cultures may have different ways of showing gratitude but it's still all about sharing.

Goya Dark Mint is only one of the new pasalubong trends coming out. There was a commercial that claimed that it was Goldilocks, ang pasalubong ng bayan (the gift for everyone). What other interesting pasalubong ideas and/or travel gifts do you have? Care to share them? Send me a message. Or drop a note.