Pasalubong. A Filipino term for homecoming gifts or souvenirs.

It has been a habit of many Filipinos to bring home some “pasalubong” or treats for our beloved ones. Be it after a long trip abroad, an out of town, or simply a long day after work, Filipinos often think about their loved ones who are waiting for them to come home. Thus, the “pasalubong” culture has remained a constant part of many household.
Ofrace and Era Ocampo proved that this “pasalubong” culture amongst us is still alive up to this day. This has inspired them to establish a company that offers different kinds of treats for all beloved ones at home.

After months of being unemployed, Ofrace and Era decided to turn things around and started their career in entrepreneurship. Ofrace who is a graduate of Hotel and Restaurant and Era who is a graduate of Pharmacy, both in University of the Philippines-Diliman, grew up in an enterprising family. Ofrace’s family was into making Filipino desserts while Era’s family had a family restaurant. With their backgrounds in Filipino desserts, delicacies, and more, they were destined to be in the industry.
In 1984, the Ocampo couple decided to open up a table selling space inside a small supermarket where they sold Filipino “kakanin” or delicacies. With an initial of 10,000.00, borrowed from Era’s mother, they set up the space with their initial inventory.

Years after, they have focused on being a retail store of pasalubongs and opened Sitsirya Sarisari. Partnering with many small entrepreneurs who manufacture local delicacies and favourites,
Sitsirya has become a distributor of local specialties of different provinces. From Pampanga’s
Pastillas, Camarines’ Pili Tart, to Bacolod’s Piaya, all these and more can be found in one outlet of Sitsirya, ready to be picked up as a “Pasalubong kay bunso.”
While the word bunso may refer to us as a young small child waiting at home, for Sitsirya, it refers to a loved one, be it young or old.