Discover one of the lesser known global entrepreneurs, BENSON DAKAY; one of Cebu's top businessmen & advocate for the seaweed industry in Asia & the world. Hailed as one of the pioneers in the carrageenan industry and champion of the rural seaside fisherfolks livelihood and betterment of their plight. Not too many people know that most of the staple food on our table is made of up carrageenan- "seaweed extract used for binding, thickening and food-grade additives" on your toothpaste, jellies, ham, bacons, medicine & many more. . . - a humble story of how his passion turned to profit! - Prof. Rommel G. Ramos, MSM. https://youtu.be/7aUyABVogZw Photo credits: Guidetothephilippines.ph

1. BENSON DAKAY
“The Seaweed King”
1955-2012
Top Philippine Entrepreneurs

2. Passion turns into business
He was only 11 years old when
he first took interest in local
seaweed after seeing a lot of
them while diving in Talisay
City, Cebu in 1966.
Photo credits: “7 Best Dive Sites in the Philippines”, from: Guide to the Philippines website

3. Passion turns into business
He then borrowed P10,000
from his father to send
samples to prospective clients
after learning about the
seaweed Eucheuma.
Seaweed farming in Sibolon island,
Western Visayas, Philippines

4. Passion turns into business
That was the start of his
enterprising career!
Benson Dakay, “Carageenan King of the Philippines” – among Top 100 Cebuanos

5. Beginnings
He started small until he was able to
build his own manufacturing plant in
1979, which was the first carrageenan
refinery in Asia to produce semi-
refined carrageenan, a binding agent
in many food & pharmaceutical
products from milk and meat
products to drugs & toothpaste.
Under the tutelage of an uncle,
Benson earned his first million at age
19.

6. Major contribution to seaweed
industry
His clients around the world held 30
percent of the global market with a
production capacity of 10,000 metric tons
supplying brands such as Colgate-Palmolive,
Quaker, Mars, and Nestle.
“Dakay led the Philippines in a series of
campaign for the acceptance of the
carrageenan in the United States as a
nontoxic food additive in 1990.
In 1996, he also headed and won the same
battle in the European Union. He also
lobbied for the classification of PNG as a
food additive in the Food Codex
Alimentarius and the Codex Committee on
Food Additives and Contaminants.

7. Carrageenan or semi-processed seaweed works as a
gelling, thickening, or binding agent for processed food
like ham, hotdogs, and jellies. It may also be used for
animal-free so gel capsules, biodegradable digestible
films, and microbicides or compounds that are used to
prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. —
PE/VS, GMA News, March 1, 2011.
Carrageenan

8. Food additives from
‘CARRAGEENAN’ (seaweed variety)
Ice creamJelly Toothpaste

9. a
Green seaweed
‘ lato’ (halamang dagat)

10. Red seaweed
Seaweed farming is the primary source of income for most families in Layag-
Layag, Zamboanga. Men learn the tricks of the trade early in life and pass it on to
the next generation. Hussein started helping out his father when he was 19 years
old. Now, his sons are helping earn the family's keep by joining him at sea.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / J. Aznar
Red seaweed commonly called ‘guzo’ or ‘tambalang.’

11. Red seaweed
In the small village of Layag-Layag, seaweed farming is a family affair. Planting
and harvesting are tasks usually reserved for the men, while the women and
children stay at home preparing the seedlings for planting by tying them in
bundles.
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / S. Velasco

12. The Philippines is the world's third largest producer of seaweed,
following China and Indonesia. In 2015, about 90 percent of the
farmed output from the Philippines comprised Eucheuma spp,
namely E. cottonii (Kappaphycus) and E. denticulatum, and the rest
was green seaweed.
In fact, nearly 80 perecent of the world's total E. cottonii
(Kappaphycus) production originates from the Philippines (777,963
tonnes), roughly 30 percent of which is traded in dried form.
From: FAO Globefish Research Programme, Rome (2018).
Red seaweed

13. Seaweeds are harvested throughout the world
( either collected from wild or cultivated in farms ) and
used in a large number of applications ,including food
for human consumption or as a source of hydro colloids
processed in to food additives , pet food, feeds,
fertilizers, bio fuel, cosmetics and medicines, among
others ( McHugh,2003).
Practical uses of seaweeds

14. Seaweed is one of the Philippines’ Top 10 exports.
Rounding up the list of top ten agricultural exports for 2015
were: Seaweeds and Carrageenan, $202.60 million, dropped
by 21.0 percent;
A chunk or 30 percent of its semi-processed seaweed exports
goes to China. Its second largest market is France (25 percent),
followed by the United States (15 percent), Spain (10 percent),
South Korea (6 percent), Denmark (4 percent), and Brazil (2
percent).
Driver of Economic Growth

15. Short Bio/Contribution
 Born on March 26, 1955. Benson had
the family's entrepreneurial spirit in his
blood.
 His father, Ernesto, was also a
businessman who made (Lion-Tiger)
mosquito coils for a living.
Benson U. Dakay

16. Short Bio/Contribution
Dakay was one of the pioneers and prime mover in the seaweed
industry of the Philippines.
CEO & Founder of Cebu-based SHEMBERG CORP., a company
he founded along with Shemberg Marketing and Shemberg
Biotech Corp.
He was also President of the Seaweed Industry Association of
the Philippines (SIAP) after having organized the stakeholders
of the booming seaweed industry in the 80’s and late 90’s. He
was a TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee for
Aquaculture/Agriculture in 1988.

17. Short Bio/Contribution
Dakay led lobby efforts to get carageenan accepted as a non-
toxic food additive in markets in the United States in 1990 and
Europe in 1996.
It was because of Dakays leadership that allowed the PNG
(Philippine National Grade) carrageenan to continue to stay in
the world market of carrageenan.”

18. Dakay Family of Cebu
Benson Dakay succumbs to kidney cancer on 2012. Surviving family continues on his legacy.
Picture: (from left to right): Benson Ernest Dakay Jr.,
Mary Anne Rose Dakay, Marie Cecille Dakay, Pierre Collin Dakay, (center) Rosemary Dakay.

19. Mandaue Journal; They Plow the Waves for the Squire of Seaweed
By Edward A. Gargan, The New York Times
Archived: June 5, 1995
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/05/world/mandaue-journal-they-plow-the-waves-for-the-squire-of-seaweed.html
‘Seaweed king’ Benson Dakay succumbs to kidney cancer
By: Aileen Garcia-Yap - Senior Reporter / @agarciayapCDN Cebu Daily News / 09:04 AM January 07, 2012
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/123945/‘seaweed-king’-benson-dakay-succumbs-to-kidney-cancer
The Economics of Kappaphycus Seaweed Cultivation in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Farming Systems,
Valderrama, et. al. ; Accessed from the internet-Aug.2, 2019.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276144861
"The global status of seaweed production, trade and utilization", Volume 124;Globefish Research Program,
By: Fatima Ferdouse et.al., Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (c),Rome, 2018.
Created By:
Jackelyn Adao & RGRamos
"Filipino Entrepreneurs"
Entrepeneurial Behavior
Prof.Rommel G. Ramos, MSM
University of Makati-PH-2019
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