Selecta (dairy products) facts for kids
Logos of Selecta ice cream (left) and Selecta milk (right)
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| Owner | RFM Corporation |
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| Introduced | 1933 |
| Previous owners | Arcecon Dairy, Inc. (1933–1990) |
| Ambassador(s) | Ice cream products: Aga Muhlach Sharon Cuneta Andrei Felix Piolo Pascual Judy Ann Santos Carmina Villarroel Zoren Legaspi Vhong Navarro Sef Cadayona James Reid Joshua Garcia Angel Guardian BINI SB19 Janine Gutierrez Solenn Heussaff Milk products: Vic Sotto Both products: Sarah Geronimo |
| Tagline | Sarap ng Sama-Sama (transl. "It's Delicious Being Together"; ice cream brand only, 2022–present) |
| Website | https://www.selectaphilippines.com/ (ice cream brand and products) |
Selecta is a popular brand from the Philippines that makes yummy dairy products like ice cream and milk. It's owned by a company called RFM Corporation (PSE: RFM).
For milk products, RFM Corporation handles everything. But for ice cream, Selecta works with Unilever Philippines. They have a special partnership called Unilever RFM Ice Cream, Inc. This means Selecta ice cream is also part of Unilever's big international ice cream family, known as the Heartbrand.
Contents
The Story of Selecta
How it All Started (1930s-1970s)
The Selecta brand began way back in 1933. A man named Ramón Arce started it. He lived in Novaliches, which was part of Caloocan back then. Ramón Arce began cleaning and preparing carabao milk near his home. There were lots of carabaos (water buffaloes) in that area.
In 1935, Arce built his first dairy plant. He started selling fresh milk in bottles under the "Selecta" name. He delivered it to homes, restaurants, and offices. Soon after, Ramón and his wife, Carmen, created their own special ice cream recipe. It was also made from carabao milk. These milk and ice cream products became the start of the family's Selecta business. They even opened Selecta restaurants and a bakery later on.
After Ramón Arce retired in 1950, his children continued the business. In 1952, they built a new dairy plant in Balintawak. By the 1970s, Selecta's ice cream and fresh milk were available in supermarkets. The milk came in glass bottles, and the ice cream was sold in gold-colored tin containers.
New Owners and New Recipes (1990s)
In January 1990, a company called RFM Corporation bought the Selecta brand. They created a new company, Selecta Dairy Products, Inc., to make Selecta ice cream. Under RFM, the ice cream recipe got even better and was advertised a lot. This made Selecta a big competitor to Magnolia, which was the top ice cream brand at the time.
Because of its success, Selecta ice cream eventually changed its recipe from carabao milk to cow's milk. The gold tin containers were also replaced with gold plastic tubs. RFM Corporation also started making its own Selecta milk products, which were also made from cow's milk.
A Family's Return and a Big Partnership (Late 1990s)
In January 1995, Ramón Arce's youngest son, Mauro Arce, and his family decided to bring back their family's ice cream business. They called it Arce Dairy. This new ice cream was still made at the old Selecta Balintawak dairy plant. It used carabao milk and came in gold-colored tin containers, just like the original Selecta ice cream from the Arce family.
Then, in February 1999, RFM Corporation teamed up with Unilever Philippines. They formed a special partnership to make and sell Selecta ice cream. This new company was first called Selecta Walls, Inc., but now it's known as Unilever RFM Ice Cream, Inc. However, RFM Corporation still directly manages the Selecta milk business on its own.
