Maribeth Rañoa
This National Women’s Month, we celebrate women like Maribeth Rañoa, a cacao entrepreneur from Agusan del Norte, whose journey reflects resilience, innovation, and leadership in building sustainable livelihoods.
Raised in a humble household in Brgy. Balangbalang, Remedios T. Romualdez, Agusan del Norte, Ms. Rañoa learned early in life that success comes from hard work. While other children played, she helped run their family’s sari-sari store, cooked tapioca late into the night, and assisted her mother in the market.
Years later, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced her laundry business to close, Ms. Rañoa faced a defining moment.
Instead of giving up, she started again.
Looking at the cacao trees in her backyard, she began experimenting and created cacao tea and tablea infused with turmeric, lemongrass, and chia seeds. She also developed handcrafted fine chocolates in different unique flavors. What started as small home experimentations soon grew into passion.
From this passion, DESEO Food Products was born.
Ms. Rañoa began investing in herself to further improve her craft. She attended specialized trainings such as Creation of Regional Cacao Bean Graders by Cacao Pilipinas Sensory Resources Inc. (Cacao PilSense) and the Chocolate Making Course from the Philippine Cacao Industry Council. She strengthened her skills, improved product quality, and began building DESEO Food Products to be rooted in both innovation and purpose.
Beyond personal skill-building, Ms. Rañoa actively sought support from government agencies to strengthen her enterprise.
Through the support from the DTI RAPID Growth Project, which provided:
• Capability-building on food safety, bookkeeping, and packaging
• Marketing support through trade fairs
• Matching grant assistance for equipment such as a cacao melanger, roasting machine, and sheller-sifter
With these interventions, Miss Rañao was able to scale her production, improve product quality, and reach wider markets—transforming DESEO into a growing brand of bean-to-bar fine chocolates.
Her dedication has earned her multiple recognitions, including:
• MSME Innovative Awardee (DTI & Department of Agriculture)
• Outstanding Cacao Entrepreneur (DA)
• Successful Women Entrepreneur in Caraga (DTI)
• Top Seller in the Buy Caraga by Caraga: 2021 Christmas Edition Trade Fair
• Resilient and Innovative MSME (National MSME Week 2022)
Today, Ms. Rañoa is more than a business owner. She now stands as a leader in the cacao industry in Caraga Region, inspiring others in her community and proving that women can thrive as entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers.
Her journey also reflects the power of strong support systems—from government programs to industry partnerships—which help rural entrepreneurs recover from setbacks, strengthen their enterprises, and create lasting economic opportunities.
This National Women’s Month, Maribeth Rañoa’s story reminds us that when women are equipped with the right skills, resources, and support, they lead industries, uplift communities, and drive inclusive growth from the ground up.
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