All Images Shot by Oly Ruiz, @dmetroman

A Magnate’s Son

On the onset, Marvin Tiu Lim can be considered your average magnate’s son. But as one gets to know him, we quickly realize he is in fact a pleasant dichotomy, despite the many privileges at his disposal. He has a knack for sports cars, but drives a Toyota to work. He enjoys personal training at home with his wife Pinky, and plays with his three kids Chase, Kyle and Ashley after helping with their homework. He avidly monitors international news and reads self-improvement books like Atomic Habits. His favorite music includes crooners like Frank Sinatra.

But a closer look at Mega Sardines’ Chief Growth and Development officer reveals that he is a mix of worlds. He has the tech-savvy of a millennial, but exhibits Generation X grit. His decisions are digital and data-driven, but he values first-hand, boots-on-the-ground research. And while his formal education is a mix of Ateneo De Manila University, University of Asia & Pacific, as well as the Entrepreneur’s School of Asia - his experience includes real-world learning. “I started Laptop Kid in 2008,” shares Marvin of his first venture, “then in 2011 I started AutoKid with several business partners.” Of the latter venture, he started with one branch with three employees, then expanding to 17 branches with over 500 employees nationwide. It echoes his father, William Tiu Lim’s Mega Sardines story of starting with a single fishing vessel with 20 employees, to a fleet of 80 vessels, employing 4000 people. In 2014 - that number would include Marvin. 

“I started at the bottom,” Marvin shares in a previous interview. Entering as a van salesman, he first worked to learn about distribution systems to sari-sari stores, gradually working his way up the supply chain to store owners, managers, and regional distributors. “I didn’t want to be the boss all at once. I wanted to gain respect.”

He eventually would, one click at a time.

Hooked, Online, and Thinker

While being in the marine industry, Marvin turned out to be both a fisherman, and a proverbial “fisher of men.” His experiences with LaptopKid and AutoKid taught him the power of promoting even basic commodities such as net-caught sardines on the internet. “We invested early-on in relationships with Facebook and Google,” reveals Marvin, bringing up his early trip to Google’s HQ in Singapore— relationships keep Mega Sardines’ ads flowing into users’ feeds to this day. 

Those ads include a tidal wave of memes, generated during the Covid lockdown, grander plans such as a Guinness World Record for the world’s tallest tin can structure, as well as user-generated content derived through in-house promoted campaigns.

With his innovation and passion for marketing evident, organizations began to take notice. Foremost among these is the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), who’ve recently re-elected Marvin as their president for 2021, in a stirring call-to-arms. With “Involve to Evolve,” Marvin hopes to induct more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) towards crafting first-class advertising campaigns.

And while Marvin’s pioneering spirit again mirrors his father’s early tech. forays into the industry (the senior Tiu Lim invested in sonar, fish-pump, and advanced refrigeration technology), Marvin demonstrates that he also takes after his dad in a very Filipino trait— Malasakit.

Changing the World? Sardines Can.

“We were the first to use easy-open cans,” shares Marvin, pointing out that particular 1-peso convenience would become a proven necessity, especially when Mega’s cans were given to can-opener-less, typhoon-struck areas. Indeed, Mega’s brand image of being “value-for-money” slots easily into their advocacies against malnutrition. Marvin discloses several programs spearheaded by their company. These include the: “Mega Bigay Sustansya sa Pasko” program, symbolized by a towering Christmas Tree which was given to the needy, the “Bida Solusyon” program which has Mega partnered with the Department of Health to provide health-related awareness messages to consumers, and the Mega Malasakit Kitchen, which served to provide meals for 120,000 families who needed it the most during 2020. 

Marvin credits his people as the reason for Mega being capable of effective malasakit. “Rarely is a company so readily able to provide for its own,” he says. In particular, he cites the way Mega took care of its employees during the Covid crisis of 2020. Ayudas were given, work-from-home set-ups provided, and food security in general was assured. “Our family donated a lot,” Marvin says, a hint of pride touching his voice, “we believe in the power of public-private partnerships in nation-building.” 

And to prove this, the Tiu Lim Family is doubling down on the country’s post-covid prospects, upping their 500 million peso capacity investment in Luzon, to a staggering 1 billion figure. It’s a dream that means a lot of sardines, but also a lot of less hungry mouths, with plans allowing for more than 1,000 locals being employed, as well as an expanded product portfolio. “At the end of the day, I wish to elevate Filipino products to a global stage,” says Marvin. With Mega’s various products being certified by the FSSC, HACCP, EU, and Halal - it’s easy to see his sardines going places. 

What Marvin chooses to set his eyes on next to catch amidst the waves his making however, is a more difficult (but more exciting) thing to consider.

Get in touch with Marvin through @megaglobalofficial or email him at Marvin@megasardines.com

—alike.com.ph


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