Philippine bamboo venture targets export expansion as indigenous supply chain scales

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Philippine bamboo export expansion

Highlights

Bambuhay plans to expand exports to Brunei and North America in 2025 while increasing automation and scaling up indigenous supply chains.
The company has sold approximately 200,000 bamboo toothbrushes to date and targets 10 million sales, displacing 10 million plastic units by 2030.
6Wresearch projects the Philippine bamboo market to grow 12.2% by 2027, driven by broader adoption in consumer goods and construction sectors.

Export plan and indigenous production model

As reported by BusinessWorld Online, Bambuhay buys bamboo from Bugkalot and Dumagat communities in the Sierra Madre area at fair prices and also employs members of those groups in production and reforestation work, creating an added income stream alongside its environmental programs.

Founder Mark Sultan D. Gersava said the company treats at least 15 workers from the indigenous communities in Nueva Ecija as partners in its supply chain. He said the business aims to expand exports to Brunei and North America next year while automating operations as production scales up.

Mr. Gersava founded Bambuhay in 2018 with an initial investment of P10,000 after seeing an image of a turtle injured by a plastic straw. Drawing on his background as a food scientist, he and his team developed drinking straws from a small bamboo variety, citing the plant's renewability and biodegradability.

When pandemic disruption hit hospitality and food service customers, the company broadened its product line to bamboo toothbrushes. Bambuhay now sells toothbrushes with plant-based bristles and handles engraved with endangered animals, as well as plantable versions containing seeds of native species such as narra and alibangbang.

Growth targets and wider bamboo market demand

Bambuhay serves corporate clients, government agencies and nongovernment organizations, while also selling directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms. The company says it has sold about 200,000 bamboo toothbrushes in domestic and overseas markets and is targeting 10 million sales by 2030.

Mr. Gersava said the company's goal is to keep 10 million plastic toothbrushes out of landfills by 2030. He added that indigenous partners earn more than the minimum wage and also take part in reforestation projects tied to the business.

The planned expansion comes as the Philippine bamboo market shows stronger growth potential. Market research firm 6Wresearch & Database Services Private Ltd. projects the market to expand by 12.2% in 2027, supported by wider use of bamboo across sectors including consumer goods and construction.

Our earlier article on the Philippines’ expanding access to Malaysia’s halal import market explained how another local certification body, PhilUlama, gained recognition from Malaysia’s JAKIM, giving exporters an additional pathway to meet Malaysian halal requirements. We also noted that a broader base of internationally recognized certifiers can support wider export growth across multiple industries, making compliance infrastructure a practical enabler of overseas market expansion.

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