Axel Farm Wins Halal Rookie Award and Earns Halal Certification at Prime Group Gala Night
Newport Manila, May 22, 2026
The ballroom at Hilton Newport Manila was filled with industry leaders, government officials, and entrepreneurs from across the Philippines. It was the Prime Group Philippines Inaugural Stakeholders Gala Night 2026 — a gathering to celebrate excellence in Halal certification and food safety. And in the middle of it all, a farm from Talalora, Samar was called to the stage.
Axel Integrated Farm received two honors that night: the Halal Rookie Award — recognizing the farm as a standout newcomer in the Philippine Halal industry — and a Certificate of Registration confirming Halal certification from Prime Certification and Inspection Asia Pacific Inc. for its coconut vinegar processing operations.
The Halal Rookie Award: What It Means
The Halal Rookie Award is given to emerging enterprises that have demonstrated commitment to Halal compliance, food safety, and the potential to scale into the global Halal market. For Axel Farm, it is validation of years of work — not just in the processing facility, but out in the coconut groves where every harvest begins.
Halal certification goes beyond religious compliance. It means the entire production process — from raw material sourcing to processing, packaging, and storage — meets internationally recognized standards for hygiene, sanitation, and product integrity. Axel Farm's coconut vinegar processing facility passed the rigorous audit required by Prime Certification, a UAE-headquartered Halal certification body accredited under the Philippine Accreditation Bureau.
A Night to Remember
The evening was a milestone for the Pascual family and the Talalora Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (TALFAC). For Jayson Pascual, who received both the award and certification on stage, the moment was personal.
"Standing there, holding the Halal Rookie Award, I thought about the farmers back in Talalora," Jayson said. "Every bottle of Sukang Waray, Cocestra, and Sinamak that leaves our facility carries their hard work. This certification means the world can now taste what Samar has to offer."
The event featured a keynote address by Usec. Amihilda Sangcopan, and brought together stakeholders from across the Halal ecosystem — including Universal Robina Corporation, Magnolia, and other major Philippine food companies also recognized that evening.
The Road to Halal Certification
Achieving Halal certification is not a simple process. It requires documentation of every input, every process step, every cleaning procedure. For a small farm in Samar, the journey involved months of preparation, facility upgrades, and staff training.
None of it would have been possible without the support of the Department of Trade and Industry — both DTI Samar and DTI Region 8. From technical assistance to capacity building and market linkages, DTI's Halal development programs provided the foundation that made this milestone achievable.
"We are deeply grateful to DTI Samar and DTI Region 8 for their unwavering support," Jayson added. "This award belongs to them as much as it belongs to Axel Farm."
What This Means for Axel Farm Products
With Halal certification, Axel Farm's coconut vinegar products — Sukang Waray, Cocestra (Coconut Balsamic), Sinamak, Sukang Negro, and Coconut Aminos — are now certified for markets that require Halal compliance. This opens doors to:
- The Middle East and GCC countries — a growing market for Philippine coconut products
- ASEAN Muslim-majority markets — Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei
- Global Halal food trade — valued at over USD 2 trillion annually
- Philippine domestic Halal market — serving Muslim communities and Halal-conscious consumers nationwide
From Samar to the World
In 2021, Axel Integrated Farm was a small coconut farm looking for ways to add value to its harvest. Today, it is a Halal-certified enterprise with a product lineup spanning vinegars, aminos, and beverages — and a story that was featured on an international stage at the ACEBA circular economy forum just months before.
The Halal Rookie Award is not the end of a journey. It is the beginning of a new chapter — one where a farm from Talalora, Samar competes on the global stage, not on charity or sympathy, but on the quality of its products and the integrity of its process.
Behind Every Bottle Is a Farmer. — Axel Integrated Farm, Talalora, Samar