Behind the Business March 22, 2023

From Goldilocks to a Social Enterprise: What’s Next for Pinky Yee?

Having experienced the many facets of a business—from running Goldilocks to managing a franchise and starting her own social enterprise—Pinky Yee shares her learnings throughout her career journey.

The name Pinky Yee is synonymous with the Goldilocks brand, as she has been a monumental force in its growth. By pioneering a brand identity transformation and paving the way for its growth, Goldilocks Bakeshop Inc. had over 420 stores in the Philippines, a workforce of over 2,000 people, and multiple branches in the United States and Canada under her leadership. What’s more, it remains as the country’s number-one bakeshop ever since!

After her 26-year career with the well-loved bakeshop, Yee embarked on another chapter, this time as the President of Domino’s Pizza Philippines—a franchise brought in by Goldilocks—from 2015 to 2019 before transferring back to Goldilocks. Eventually, she took on an early retirement at the height of the pandemic. But did this mean the end of her illustrious career?

Not for this business maverick. While Yee did close the doors to her corporate career, the hustling didn’t end just yet. Now with a renewed sense of purpose and a road full of endless possibilities, she shifted her gears towards social entrepreneurship as she opened her very own business—Pure Essentials Specialist Corp.

From running a family business to managing a franchise, and now, setting up her very own business, Yee has stepped out from the shadows and has, in her words, found her place in the sun. This is her story.

*From Gold to Good—Pinky Yee may be known for her prestigious career in Goldilocks, but the business maverick has started a new chapter as the owner of her very own social enterprise.*

Learnings from Running a Family Business

Fueled by a collaboration among women and a collective love for good food, Goldilocks was established by two sisters, Milagros and Clarita, and their sister-in-law Doris in 1966. As a small bakeshop along Pasong Tamo Street in Makati, its opening day total sales started out at a mere PHP 574. But since then, it has multiplied thousands of times over.

Enter Pinky Yee, whose career in Goldilocks first began in 1988—after moving back to the Philippines. Armed with a strong operations background, which stemmed from her experience working for a fashion retail brand in Canada, she took on the role of Goldilocks’ Store Operations Director. From there, she paved the way for the bakeshop’s franchising program in 1991.

Eventually, Yee was appointed as the brand’s Marketing Director in 1999. In those 15 years, she has built for herself a solid background in marketing, brand-building, and customer experience. And the secret to her success? “All marketers have to put in a simple phrase, the brand’s unique selling proposition,” Yee says simply.

In fact, as Marketing Director, she was the brains behind many successful advertising and promotional campaigns in its 56-year history, including the brand’s well-received “Celebrations Made Special” campaign.

“Goldilocks is a legacy brand,” Yee explains in an exclusive interview with The Business Manual. After culling consumer insights and taking a deep dive into what the brand’s relevance is to the target market, the wisdom came to be: to a Filipino, regardless of age, gender, and socio-eco class, there are big and small milestones that will be celebrated. And Goldilocks was, still is, and will be part of their life. So simply put, Goldilocks sells celebrations.”

“Marketing is the key driver, or primary mover, of a business,” she adds. “When we sell products and/or services, immediately we go back to the basic 4Ps of Marketing—product, price, place, and promotion. In my case, the journey that led me to the marketing profession is an inherent love of people. I was given the opportunity to create relevance in the lives of our customers, through the brands and products I handled over the years.”

Insights from Managing a Franchise

Taking her professional experience, passion for innovation, and intimate understanding of consumer trends, Yee eventually moved on to become the President of 3030 DPP Express, Inc.—an affiliate of the Goldilocks group of companies—in 2014. This time, she was tasked to manage the franchise of the iconic global pizza brand, Domino’s Pizza.

During her five years at the helm of the company’s operations, she was able to successfully implement global e-commerce solutions and the brand’s technology innovations amid the challenges of network connectivity and telco infrastructure in the country at that time. What’s more, she used her skills as a marketer to establish a stronger brand presence through market expansion, consumer engagement, and in-store and digital experience.

Through her guidance, Domino’s Pizza Philippines was positioned to be a significant Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) player in the fast food industry with 50 stores. Aside from her inherent talent in understanding the consumer market, Yee attributes her success to having a strong and capable team to execute her plans.

But beyond capabilities, connection and shared values are just as important. “We all come from different backgrounds, but in the workplace, there has to be an alignment of values between an employee and the company he or she belongs to,” the veteran businesswoman explains.

“Employees will feel ownership, company pride, and joy when they find their purpose in the workplace. Success will [then] follow because their level of commitment becomes stronger as they proactively contribute to the best of their ability.”

As for her personal preferences as an employee, Yee says: “I value excellence, integrity, teamwork, and more importantly, passion with purpose. I would include attention to detail, leadership by example, and being results-oriented.”

“The greatest challenge in managing a big team is communication in all levels—lateral, downward, or upward—to make sure that this is done timely and in an efficient manner,” she adds.

On Failures and Embracing Success

With more than three decades of marketing and operations experience, Yee has faced her share of ups and downs. These, however, have not deterred her, as she considers them part of every career journey.

“Failures, mistakes, and mishaps are part of life. The perspective I would rather take is that these are challenges and lessons that we should learn from, and not dwell on them. With these comes discernment and prayer—being mindful and making sure that the learnings form part of future decisions,” she points out.

On the other hand, she welcomes success, just like everyone else. “Awards and recognitions by industry associations, NGOs, and institutions are affirmations that I have done something worthy and significant.”

“However, my greatest career achievement is seeing the people I worked with—those whom I have mentored and coached over the past 3 decades—being successful in their own right and making a difference in their chosen industry. Some are working in management roles in various sectors, while others started their own businesses,” she fondly reminisces.

“Words cannot describe the fulfillment when they tell me how much they appreciate the training they received from me, how I have influenced and shaped the persons they are today.”

A New Chapter for Pinky Yee

After briefly being transferred back to Goldilocks in late 2019, Yee availed her early retirement in April 2020—during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not to rest on her laurels, however, she started a new chapter in her life: a social enterprise. A new business of her own.

“The opportunity came in the middle of 2019, after my diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” Yee shares. “I went to the supermarkets, as I wanted to buy natural home cleaners. And when I couldn’t find any that had the attributes I was looking for in a natural home cleaning product, I created a business plan.”

“When I was doing my business plan in June 2019, research showed that cleaning vinegar was a popular natural base for cleaners,” she continues. “However, I noticed that most of the western brands were using lavender and eucalyptus to mask the odor of vinegar.”

“Then I recalled how my mom and Lola used the basic, simplest yet effective ingredients to clean. As far as I can remember, fresh calamansi was a staple cleaning ingredient they had in the kitchen and bathroom. That was the inspiration when I prepared the product concepts for my business plan. Since I am an essential oils advocate, I knew that somewhere in the Philippines, a company would be making calamansi essential oil—a major ingredient for our home cleaners.”

And thus, Pure Essentials Specialist Corp. was born. A personal advocacy that stemmed from her ongoing and dynamic journey of living clean, this social enterprise was founded by Yee and her Co-Founder, Lynet Ng based on the philosophy of doing things for good, which meant creating essential and natural things.

The result? An extensive portfolio of all-natural, preservative-free, and non-toxic products.

“’LivClean for Good’ is not just our brand tagline, it is our philosophy. Making the natural switch to LivClean is both an advocacy and a commitment,” Pinky Yee says of her brand’s philosophy.

Starting a Social Enterprise

After closing her doors to the corporate world, Yee turned to social entrepreneurship—a business model where entrepreneurs such as Yee develop and create products that address social issues. “On a personal level, there comes a time in a person’s life when one will reflect: ‘What’s next?’ or ‘Where do I go from here?’ I found my purpose when I launched my social enterprise,” she shares.

“We also need to ask ourselves: What legacy do we want to leave behind for the next generation? Buzzwords like sustainability and environment protection might seem daunting, but [they’re] definitely doable.” Yee adds. “We are only stewards of this earth, and in our own little way, we have to do our part to save the environment.”

To date, Pure Essentials features two brands under its wing—household cleaning brand LivClean and skincare brand FIRST for WOMEN | FIRST for MEN. The former was first conceptualized from the pain point of not having any natural cleaning products to use.

Meanwhile, the latter was developed with the goal of “shifting from products that contain toxic substances to using natural alternatives that are effective, safe, and gentle on skin; promote patriotism by patronizing products that are made by local homegrown companies; support Filipino coconut and calamansi farmers, and develop products using socially responsible innovation.”

The first of its kind in the world, LivClean offers a Dishwashing Concentrate that is made from a combination of pure calamansi essential oil and cleaning vinegar. It even includes a 2-in-1 cleaning and disinfecting that is tough on grease, effective against germs, and gentle on hands.

On the other hand, FIRST is a skincare brand that uses natural ingredients, just like LivClean. Launched just last 2022, the sustainable beauty brand is made with formulations that uniquely cater to men and women in the form of creams, lotions, soaps, and the like.

“From the onset, we worked on the documentation for our social enterprise to obtain and be issued with the required Licenses to Operate (LTOs) by the FDA,” she explains when asked about how she got things moving. “With this, part of our business plan was to have LivClean products manufactured by an FDA-accredited facility.

“We partnered with a toll manufacturer whose expertise was adherence to FDA standards and regulations,” she adds. “We applied the same principles and strategy when we launched FIRST Skincare products last year.”

Pure Essentials: A Purpose-Driven Business

But in a competitive playing field, where just as many business owners are dabbling into sustainable products, what sets Pure Essentials, and consequently, LivClean and FIRST apart?

“For both brands, it is about innovation,” Yee says simply. “In the case of LivClean, aside from using all-natural ingredients, we created products that have never existed in the world—both using calamansi, a fruit that is endemic in the country.”

“The combined power of cleaning vinegar and pure calamansi essential oil is extremely effective to clean the various surfaces of our homes,” she continues. “For our skincare line, aside from coconut oil, we are the first brand to use pumpkin seed extract from Switzerland that is applicable for all skin types.”

These breakthroughs have cemented Yee’s position as an eco-innovator, which stemmed from her experiences and expertise in marketing, innovating, and handling the day-to-day operations of the companies she’s worked for.

“Looking back at the past 3 decades of my professional career, peers and colleagues in the industry referred to me as an innovator,” she says proudly. “Marketing has instilled in me a deep passion for coming up with unique selling propositions (USPs) for the companies and brands that I handled. The big idea is always to rise above the clutter by delivering a new product or service that the target market can and will resonate with.”

“In my case, after much prayer and discernment, I focused on coming up with product innovations that are eco-friendly. When people use LivClean and FIRST Skincare products, they actively participate and support the cause of environment protection.”

From Corporate Boss to Eco-Innovator

Being exposed to the many facets of business has equipped Yee with the skillset to start her own business. But admittedly, she too is learning on another kind of playing field as she goes. “There are similarities, and simply put, nothing comes easy,” she admits. “Determination, dedication, and discipline are inherent, regardless of size and type of company. It is putting my mind, heart, and soul to achieve the objectives that the company set.”

“I think most everyone would know the differences in organizational structures in corporations and/or multinational franchises that will affect decision-making, setting of strategies, and the like. As far as running a start-up business, I chose to launch a social enterprise,” she adds.

“The major difference between traditional business and a social enterprise is that the former’s existence is for-profit, as opposed to a social enterprise’s focus is a triple bottom line: people and planet first, [then] profit after. At this stage in my life, I chose this path because Pure Essentials Specialist Corp. is my way of paying forward.”

Overall, Yee’s ethos is rooted in a purpose-driven life. And in her case, she believes that her North Star is pointing her toward the path of being an eco-innovator. “Being an innovator became more meaningful, as my purpose is way higher than my personal gain,” she enthuses. “Each day I wake up more grateful than the previous day. I may not be a scientist nor an engineer, but I was blessed to be given the wisdom and the opportunity to create sustainable home and personal care products that advocate for the environment.”

“It is my fervent hope and prayer that people will join me in this amazing journey—that they will experience the remarkable difference and impact that our products have made in their lives,” she ends.