The "Stockholder" & The Impossible Gift List: A Holiday Story

You know that specific kind of anxiety you get when you send a gift in Metro Manila? It’s not about if they will like it. It’s about how it will arrive. Will the rider get lost in a "Block and Lot" maze in Paranaque? Will the recipient be home? And if you are crazy enough to gift ice cream in a tropical country—will it turn into soup before it reaches Alabang?

Recently, a very special client (let’s call her Madame M) approached us with a challenge.

I remember when Madame M first ordered from us a while back. To be honest, she was a bit of a tough customer—struggling with the website, critical of the process—the kind of strict, discerning senior citizen who knows exactly what she wants. But over time, she kept coming back.

This holiday, she came to us with a list. A long one. It was a "Who's Who" of Manila society. Her question was simple, but heavy with worry:

“How do we ensure the ice cream will not melt? Traffic in the area... can be horrendous.”

This is the story of how we answered her, and how she went from a strict critic to our honorary "Stockholder."

The "Simba" Struggle & The Art of the Ribbon

We’ve been printing personalized gift notes and tying red ribbons since 2020. It sounds simple, but let me tell you—it’s a labor of love.

Ribbons are slippery. Getting that perfect bow takes time. My team and I spend hours prepping these boxes, twisting and adjusting until they look gift-ready. But then comes the hard part: The Handover.

Delivery riders are used to carrying pizza or cakes. They have a habit of grabbing the box by the ribbon.

We always tell them: "Kuya, hawak sa ilalim!" (Hold from the bottom!). But sometimes, in the rush of the holidays, we watch in horror as a rider lifts our perfectly tied box by the ribbon, raising it up like Rafiki holding Simba in The Lion King.

Expertise Magic & The -32°C Shield

Madame M’s list was tricky. She had addresses in strict condos, gated villages, and confusing streets.

People ask how we manage logistics better than a standard app. The answer is "Expertise Magic."

We’ve been navigating this city since 2020. We’ve learned the hard way that "Manga Street" and "Mangga Street" are two very different places. We know that in some parts of Quezon City or old Manila, addresses are still stuck in "Phase 1, Block 2, Lot 3" formats that confuse standard GPS.

We don’t just rely on Lalamove or Grab. We use everything—Google Maps, Waze, OpenStreetMap and even the old-school intuition from the days of Nokia Navi.

The Cold Hard Truth

But knowing the map isn't enough when you're fighting the sun. To reassure Madame M, we deployed our standard commercial protocol: Blast Freezing.

Before a challenging dispatch, every tub is subjected to temperatures of -32°C.

This creates a thermal "hard shell"—armor for the gelato. It buys us precious time against the EDSA heat.

We clustered her deliveries, optimized the routes (max 3 drops per rider), and monitored the rider events so she didn't have to.

"Stockholder Na Ako"

After days of coordination, revised spreadsheets, and hundreds of tubs dispatched to the city’s elite, the silence was scary. We waited.

And then, the notification popped up.

Madame M didn't just say "Thanks." She sent a message that made me pause. The strict customer who once complained about our website interface was now cracking jokes with me:

"STOCKHOLDER NA AKO NG CREM GELATO."

For those outside of Manila culture, this is the ultimate compliment. It’s that classic Filipino joke—when you love a brand so much, and you buy so much, that you feel you’ve single-handedly funded their operations!

She added that she is now one of our "biggest endorsers" and is already pestering her nieces to order.

The Verdict

We successfully delivered to 50+ (and counting) VIP households. No soup. No lost packages in "Block X Lot Y." Just happy families opening their freezers to a sweet surprise.

To Madame M (our honorary "stockholder"): I haven't even told my staff about your message yet because we've been so busy, but when I do, I know they’ll be beaming. Thank you for trusting us.

To everyone else planning their holiday list: Don't be afraid to gift something frozen. We have the tech, we have the maps, and we promise to tell the rider not to "Simba" your gift.

Ready to impress your VIPs? Send us a message. We’ll handle the traffic.

 

PS.

Exhibit A: Why we scream 'Kuya, sa ilalim ang hawak!' (Hold from the bottom!) every single gift dispatch.