The year 2024 was a momentous one for Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc.’s (PCPPI) Sto. Tomas production facility, as one of its up-and-coming leaders was included in PepsiCo’s 2024 Chairman’s Circle of Champions. Quality Control Manager Jackielou De Guzman was recognized as among the top global operations associates who have demonstrated superior excellence in the fields of safety, quality, service, and cost control. De Guzman joined other notable employees from across the globe at the awarding ceremonies held in New York last October 2024.
“Representing PCPPI is a great honor. As I aspire to become a better leader, this recognition motivates me to continue being a good example to my colleagues and helping them become the best versions of themselves,” De Guzman said.
Her most notable contributions include leading the Sto. Tomas plant’s internal audits on food safety and supporting the team in securing its first FSSC 22000 Certification in 2019. This is the safety certification model used for manufacturing industries. Under her guidance, Sto. Tomas performed consistently during their recertification audit cycles, as well as in other safety reviews and assessments.
The Sto. Tomas manufacturing team also received high Quality Assurance Systems (QAS) ratings from 2020 to 2023. De Guzman also delivered over 1,300 hours for in-house training programs, such as those on Quality and Food Safety, Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Hygiene practices.
“Through constant knowledge transfer and people engagement, our team ensures all products being produced are within quality standards and comply with regulatory and food safety requirements while maintaining customer satisfaction,” she added.
Her expertise in regulatory compliance was a key factor in the plant’s mission to earn a Certificate of Authority to Operate (CATO) a Chemical Laboratory, which is in pursuant to Republic Act No. 10657 otherwise known as the “Chemistry Profession Act”. She also introduced a project to reduce product loss for PET products, allowing PCPPI to realize significant savings in 2023.
De Guzman was chosen as Food Safety Hero of the Sto. Tomas plant during the 2023 World Food Safety Month celebration, and was recognized as a Gold Crown Awardee at the 2024 PCPPI National Summit of Bravehearts. The Gold Crown Award is given to employees who best exemplify PCPPI’s core values of Integrity, Innovation, Care & Respect, Empowerment and Excellence (ICARE).
For PCPPI, the employees are its most valuable assets. “Our Bravehearts are pivotal to our commitment to product and service excellence,” said PCPPI President and Chief Executive Officer Phyo Phyu Noe. “We are proud of Jackie’s achievements. Being recognized as part of the PepsiCo Chairman’s Circle of Champions serves as an inspiration for our team to create more opportunities that enable the growth and success of our employees,” he added.
PCPPI is the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the Philippines, with products such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, Mirinda, Mug, Gatorade, Sting, Tropicana, Lipton Iced Tea, Milkis, Chum Churum Soonhari, and Premier. More information about PCPPI and its products are available via www.pepsiphilippines.com.
