The Unexpected Journey of Baonanas: From Car Repairs to a Thriving Business
Lloyd Ortuoste never imagined that a dented Subaru would lead him down the path of building a successful banana pudding brand. One afternoon in Jersey City, he witnessed a hit-and-run incident involving his beloved yellow car, “Ella.” With college bills piling up, he and Trisha Villanueva decided to mix up a few batches of pudding and sell them to friends to help cover the repair costs. Little did they know that this small act would eventually become the foundation of a thriving business.
Fast forward to 2024, and Baonanas has grown into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. The brand not only generates over $450,000 annually but also incorporates Filipino flavors and mentors future owners through franchising. Along the way, Lloyd learned valuable lessons about mental health, partnership, and scaling with purpose. His journey offers real insights on building a business that nourishes both the bottom line and well-being.
Treat Self-Care as Non-Negotiable
In the first year of running Baonanas, Lloyd found himself working long hours, often emailing at 2 AM and skipping workouts. He noticed that his burnout was affecting his decisions and team dynamics. To address this, he experimented with micro-breaks—five minutes of shadow-boxing between orders and thirty minutes of hip-hop class three times a week. These small changes helped improve his mood and energy levels.
He also established “sacred evenings” by setting a strict 7 PM cutoff for work. These boundaries became essential safety rails that protected creativity and prevented the fatigue that can derail startups. By prioritizing self-care, Lloyd saw a 15% increase in positive customer reviews and a noticeable drop in staff turnover.
Lesson: Treat self-care as an operational strategy and measure its impact on team morale and customer happiness.
Bootstrap with Purposeful Experiments
Lloyd and Trisha conducted mini A/B tests at their first college fair, using two different menu boards to see which items sold faster. They swapped signs midway and noted the results, learning how naming and presentation could influence spending. Over time, they tracked every batch’s cost versus revenue, discovering that reducing portion size by 10% boosted profit margins by 8% without affecting repeat rates.
When they applied these tweaks to their Jersey City shop, monthly profits increased by over $2,000. Their approach demonstrated the power of low-cost experiments that test packaging, pricing, and positioning, allowing data to drive their next moves.
Lesson: Design low-cost experiments that test packaging, pricing, and positioning—and let data drive your next move.
Define Roles to Preserve Partnerships
Working with Trisha meant blending love with logistics. In the first year, they missed a key festival deadline because they both assumed the other was handling permits. To avoid this, they implemented a RACI chart on their whiteboard, clearly defining who was Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task.
Every Sunday, they reviewed upcoming events and updated the chart, eliminating duplicate work and arguments. This structure also helped them onboard remote hires in Manila and Lagos, who plugged into clear roles from Day 1.
Lesson: Use proven project-management tools like RACI or Kanban to codify responsibilities before tension arises.
Recognize Capacity and Delegate Fast
By 2020, Lloyd was involved in every aspect of the business, from approving Instagram posts to vetting inventory orders. When the pandemic hit, he realized that firefighting was overshadowing strategic planning. By mapping his weekly hours, he discovered that 45% went to operations, 25% to marketing, and 30% to people management.
He hired Ruby to take ownership of operations, freeing him to focus on brand partnerships and new revenue streams. Delegating not only cut his workload by 20 hours a week but also unlocked new growth opportunities.
Lesson: Audit your time monthly; if any activity exceeds 20% of your hours without high ROI, hire or automate it out.
Build Culture Around Shared Values
Baonanas’s team rituals go beyond just making pudding. Every Monday, they start with two minutes of “gratitude lightning,” where each member shares one win and one personal highlight. Mid-week, they host a “flow lab,” where someone leads a 30-minute creative sprint—painting pudding jars, writing social captions, or brainstorming pop-up themes.
These rituals are part of every employee’s calendar, and remote staff join from different time zones. The result is a 95% positive score on their annual engagement survey and a strong sense of “Baonanas pride” that fuels referrals and low churn.
Lesson: Ritualize values through time-boxed team events that reinforce purpose and spark cross-functional bonds.
Infuse Heritage to Craft Your Flavor
Lloyd measured the impact of introducing Filipino-inspired specials by tracking repeat orders. The ube mousse alone accounted for 18% of all pudding sales in its first month. He then added storytelling—each order came with a card explaining the dish’s cultural roots.
On Instagram, engagement on heritage posts doubled compared to generic product shots. They even launched a “Baonanas Abroad” series, shipping sample kits and partnering with a Manila influencer to introduce the brand overseas. This approach deepened customer loyalty and opened discussions about potential international pop-ups.
Lesson: Pair authentic cultural products with narrative marketing to deepen emotional connection and expand into new markets.
Scale by Mentoring Future Owners
When revenue hit $450,000, Lloyd knew that growth required a repeatable system. He created a 50-page Franchise Playbook covering everything from pudding ratios to Instagram ad templates. Candidates undergo a six-week “Baonanas Bootcamp,” including in-store training, finance workshops, and role-playing customer scenarios.
Franchisees report an average break-even period of 8 months, and the first three opened locations hit 120% of projected first-year sales. By codifying know-how and offering hands-on coaching, Lloyd and Trisha turned their once-fragile startup into a scalable mentorship platform.
Lesson: Develop a structured, coach-led training program that packages your expertise into a teachable, replicable format.
Entrepreneurship isn’t a finish line—it’s a marathon where every mile reveals more about who you are and what you value. Lloyd’s story shows that setbacks can steer you toward creativity, and that self-care fuels the stamina you need to keep going. As you lace up for your own journey, remember that the most powerful growth happens when you dare to test boundaries, invite support, and honor the passions that light you up. Stay curious, stay resilient, and let your values guide each step forward—because the business you build will reflect the strength you bring to it.