Filipina brings Woven Bag Business to Canada and aims to Go Global

April Moran, a Canada-based Filipina businesswoman, aims to bring her “bayongs” out of the local wet markets and turn them into fashion items sold abroad.

Moran’s Bayong Canada offerings feature original bayongs, handbags, and clutch bags made by weavers in the provinces of the Philippines. In an interview with ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo Moran states that the items are made from local materials and that her business advocacy is “to help our kababayans back home, especially the weavers.”

“My goal is to go global kasi ‘yong products natin, it is very competitive, kumbaga, the quality. And gusto kong ipakita sa lahat ‘yong galing ng mga Pilipino,” Moran, who is based in British Columbia, said.

(My goal is to go global because our products are very competitive — the quality. I want to show everyone how good Filipinos are.)

Moran’s operations initially garnered attention after its feature on a billboard at New York’s Times Square during Fashion Week last February.

Currently, she is preparing to open her first brick-and-mortar store in Calgary. Moran was raised in the Philippines’ Bicol Region and said that she creates the bag designs and sends them to weavers in the Philippines, where the final products are then shipped to Canada.

According to Moran, the bag designs cater to all ages, including millennials. Additionally, 90% of her customers are overseas Filipinos while the rest are foreigners.

“We’re not only supporting the kabuhayan of our kababayan here, binubuhay din natin ang kultura natin as Filipinos,” she said.

(We’re not only supporting the livelihood of our compatriots here but we’re also keeping our culture alive as Filipinos.)

Bayong Canada is now in the process of opening an office in Taguig City as Moran prepares to share her designs with the Philippine market, she also states that her bags are much cheaper than luxury brands.

Source: ABS-CBN