M. Lhuillier Food Products (ML Food) has embarked on an ambitious sustainability transformation that extends far beyond typical corporate environmental initiatives. The Philippines-based food manufacturer operates two production facilities in Canduman, Mandaue City, Cebu, each spanning over 20,000 square meters. One facility focuses on tropical dried fruits production, while the other handles purified bottled water and alcoholic beverages. Both facilities are fully powered by renewable energy, and the company has developed innovative approaches to eliminate waste through circular economy principles.
The company’s sustainability journey reflects a broader trend among Filipino businesses embracing environmental responsibility, driven by both economic necessity and genuine environmental concern. At its helm is COO Matthew M. Lhuillier, who returned to the Philippines in January 2024 after 11 years in Los Angeles’s culinary industry.
“California in general is one of the strictest and hardest places to operate a business,” he explains. “The amount of licenses and red tape you have to go through is quite incredible — from anti-pollution laws to those concerned with efficiency. I became more environmentally aware because I was surrounded by all these people who were always about sustainability first.”
This, he says, is what influenced his drive to create a better system upon his return to his home city of Cebu — beginning a rapid implementation of practices that could serve as a model for sustainable food production in Southeast Asia.
Solar Energy: From cost-saving to environmental impact
The foundation of ML Food’s sustainability strategy lies in its complete transition to 100% solar energy across both manufacturing facilities. This transformation began with practical economic considerations, but has evolved into a comprehensive environmental commitment.
“When I came back, we were initially focused on cost effectiveness,” Lhuillier tells Sustainable Food Business. “Energy costs are quite high here in the Philippines compared to other parts of the world.”
Being strategically located in the Philippines, looking into solar energy was only natural. “One of the best solutions was solar energy because of the amount of sun we get here in the Philippines, even on a rainy day,” he explains. This has fundamentally changed the company’s operational approach — significantly impacting plant efficiency and allowing operations for more than 10 hours at a time without compromising cost.
“With such hours, the amount of diesel energy we’d be burning with a generator could have been immense, but we decided to go down a different route,” he explains. “We’ve noticed an improvement in air quality, too. Using solar energy began as an experiment but it became the best thing we ever did.”
Circular economy: Transforming waste into resources
Lhuillier’s next goal is to achieve zero waste production across all fruit processing operations. “We have a ton of fruits that we process,” he says. “This produces lots of peels, cores, and other leftover parts of the fruits. Prior to this year, we’d simply put these into a compost and dispose of them. But now we’re re-manufacturing them into other products.”
So far, this has resulted in the creation of animal feed for rabbits and small mammals. Another application has been in fermenting wines and seltzers with leftover sap and drippings, as well as gelato products that are currently in full production.
“We’re looking at creating a bottled version of Tuba with leftover coconut water,” Lhuillier tells Sustainable Food Business, referring to a traditional Filipino alcoholic beverage. “We typically don’t process any coconut water, as we only utilize the meat to turn into dried coconut. But now, instead of just disposing of that water, we’re trying to convert it into something else.”
While some products remain in research and development phases, the company expects significant progress soon. “By the end of the year, we should be at or very close to 100% waste-free.”
ML Food is also transitioning away from plastic packaging. “Before July, we’re aiming to launch glass water bottles. We’ll also have paper packaging for our dried mangoes and pineapples. 90% of our gelato products are in stainless steel tubs,” Lhuillier explains.
Given that cost remains the primary concern for most Filipino consumers, Lhuillier recognizes that financial incentives are essential to drive recycling behavior. This philosophy is evident in the company’s approach to Bisaya Brew, their craft beer line. “We already collect our used beer bottles from restaurants, but now we’re looking into giving out rebates.”
Sustainable and ethical sourcing
The company sources primarily from the Mindanao and Visayas regions, focusing on smaller agricultural operations. However, current sourcing faces limitations. “Unfortunately, we’re not 100% organic and we’re not using 100% pesticide-free products, which eventually I would like to get into because those all have an impact on the earth as well,” Lhuillier acknowledges.
This reflects broader challenges in the Philippines agricultural sector. Even for locally iconic ingredients like ube, sourcing proves challenging. “For example, most of the root that goes into ube products is actually being purchased from Vietnam or other countries,” he explains. “There are many factors at play, such as higher quality and local laws, which makes importing the more cost-effective option at the moment.”
While ML Food’s dried fruit products are entirely vegan, the company’s gelato line uses cow’s milk, making animal welfare considerations particularly important for this product line. This approach extends to the broader M. Lhuillier Group of Companies includes restaurant operations — La Parisienne Cebu, Mactan & Sky, Pizzeria Michelangelo, and Pino Filipino Restaurant — which operate independently from the food production facilities but share similar sustainability values.
“We have farms of our own that are free-range and organic,” Lhuillier says. “We have chicken and cattle that we raise, and I’ve just opened a turkey and duck farm a few days ago. Our goal is to have a 100% self-sustaining, farm-to-table dining approach, where we’re able to produce our own ingredients.”
Currently, some restaurants already benefit from this direct farm sourcing approach. “Pizzeria Michelangelo, for example, uses 100% free-range eggs and chickens from our farms. But unfortunately, we don’t produce enough to supply to all our restaurants just yet,” he explains. The group also operates a commercial egg production line managed by Magnolia Chicken, though Lhuillier acknowledges having less control over welfare standards in these partnership arrangements compared to their directly managed farm operations.
This emphasis on animal welfare stems from Lhuillier’s broader concerns about commercial livestock practices. “A lot of the time when there’s profit involved with livestock, the welfare of animals can sometimes be deprioritized when it should always be on the front end of things,” he observes. While ML Food does not have a comprehensive animal welfare policy yet, Lhuillier is exploring the prospect for the near future, with the ultimate goal of sourcing 100% of ingredients from internal farms to maintain greater control over welfare standards.
