From Survival to Global Success: CEO Awards Honoree Justin Uy

The Business Manual recognizes the leadership and service of Profood International’s founder Justin Uy, in its CEO Awards.
He is dubbed as the “Mango King” and owns the largest dried fruits processing and exporting company in the Philippines. Yet Profood International Corporation’s founder, Justin Uy, was just an accidental entrepreneur who got into business as a matter of survival.
Starting Young
This self-made Cebuano tycoon came from a poor family who struggled to make ends meet. He considered himself an ordinary boy, the fourth of 11 siblings, who at a young age was forced by circumstances to look for ways to augment his family’s income.
At aged 12, he worked for his father who was a cigarette distributor. At age 15, he tried other ventures such as selling handcrafted jewelry, chicken eggs, and mushroom farming, but all failed.

Growing Pains
At 19 years old, he and his brother tried out his aunt’s dried mango recipe. They felt it had promise, and despite three previous business failures, decided to take another risk.
But in 1978, they were already a late comer in the dried mango business. The market had already been cornered by several other companies. Uy had to go to each grocery and supermarket to personally offer their product to get a small piece of the pie.
Another challenge was their lack of knowledge about mass production and entrepreneurship. While they had a good recipe, they had no knowledge on how to mass produce their dried mangoes efficiently.
After three years, their business failed once more. They lost all their investment which was just borrowed money. Uy’s brother quit to find work leaving him to manage the business on his own.

Learning, Adapting, and Persisting
Uy then decided to make some corrections. He took a quick two-week course on food preservation and overhauled their entire food production process.
To solve the problem of having a limited market share, Uy explored the possibility of exporting. He started with Hong Kong, followed by the United States. Today, Uy considers the United States and Canada as their biggest markets, followed by China, Japan, the rest of Asia and Europe. From just dried mangoes, he has also expanded their product line to 16 different types of dried tropical fruits.
Uy credits four main attributes for Profoods’ success: their reasonable price, consistent quality, on-time delivery, and ability to produce whatever volume the client requires. This level of excellence and reliability, was achieved through many years of toiling long hours to improve their processes. In an earlier interview for an article with the Consulate-General of Japan in Cebu, he recalled how he would work for 18 hours daily with hardly any rest days, in the first 18 years of his business.
Beyond Mangoes
Though his work schedule is no longer as rigorous, Uy has still not slowed down. He continuously learns about the business, attending several food fairs annually and getting feedback from their customers, in order to develop new products.
He has also diversified to the hotel business, acquiring J Park Island Resort and Waterpark in 2015, which currently has a branch in Mactan, Cebu and in Panglao island, Bohol.
Fueled by Passion
Having started working at a young age and persevering through numerous challenges, Uy remains as enthusiastic and driven about business and life as he was when he was just 12 years old.
To the younger generation aspiring to enter the business world, he offers this advice: Always stay prepared because opportunities are rare; Build a business around something you’re passionate about; Be innovative and think creatively, especially when finding ways to fund your venture; and never let the fear of failure stop you from taking the first step.

The Business Manual CEO Awards 2025: Honoring Industry Disruptors
The Business Manual is proud to hold its second CEO Awards. With the theme “Honoring Industry Disruptors,” this year’s The CEO Awards honors visionary leaders who are reshaping business landscapes, pushing boundaries, challenging the norm, and setting new standards of success.
Criteria for Excellence
This year’s awardees have been selected from a pool of nominations that include business leaders from both startups and industry giants. Each nomination has been carefully assessed in order to determine if the nominee exhibits the following qualifications in order to be considered for the award:
Innovation, Adaptability, and Disruptive Leadership
- Measures the CEO’s ability to drive innovation, adapt to market changes, and lead the company like industry disruptors who challenge norms and leave a lasting impact.
Effective Management and Strategic Governance
- Assesses the candidate’s business achievements. This includes how the CEO steers the company toward revenue growth and how he or she scales the business (both locally and internationally).
Brand Influence and Recognition in their Industry
- Considers how the CEO has built the credibility and reputation of the company. It gauges how known and recognizable the company is and whether it has attained brand awareness within a wide range of audiences.
Personal Image and Credibility
- Evaluates the CEO’s reputation and how well he or she is perceived by business partners, employees, stakeholders, and consumers. This also includes how he or she applies ethics as a leader, as well as how his or her image contributes to both brand and company representation.
Contribution to Society
- Determines how a CEO has effectively led his or her company and its overall contribution—not just to its respective industry, but to society as a whole. This includes how he or she has implemented corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs or social causes, attained local and/or international recognition, partnered with government initiatives, or exerted efforts for the country.
For this year, The Business Manual’s esteemed panel of judges include:
- Eric Pike Caeg (International Council for Small Business)
- Jay Fajardo (Ideaspace Ventures)
- Mina Akram (Go Negosyo)
- Rhoda Castro-Caliwara (Women Business Council)
- Ronn Astillas (Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce)
- Consul Sergio Ortiz Luis (Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
Stay updated with the full coverage of The Business Manual CEO Awards 2025 via The Business Manual’s official website, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages.