A Book by the Founder of Carmen's Best
It started with too much milk. My father's dairy farm in Laguna had more fresh milk than it knew what to do with, so I started experimenting, and what came out of that kitchen eventually became Carmen's Best, named after my daughter Carmen.
Carmen's Best became one of the Philippines' most loved premium ice cream brands, almost by accident.
Over the better part of two decades, it grew from a village side project into a brand people genuinely sought out. In 2022, I sold a majority stake to Metro Pacific Agro Ventures. I stayed on as a minority partner and still sit on the board today.
That transition, and everything that led up to it, is a big part of what the book is actually about.
THE BRAND
You know the brand. This is where it came from: the decisions, the near failures, and the lessons that shaped it, written down for the first time.
What it actually took to build Carmen's Best, in six parts.
Inside the Book
Gelato or ice cream, a batch gone wrong, and the cow that somehow became the logo: the small calls that shaped everything after.
01
The decisions nobody sees before the first pint
The shortcuts and easy money I said no to, and why that discipline is what people were actually paying for.
02
What "staying premium" actually costs you
Texas, Singapore, and the expansion dreams that didn't work out the way I'd planned.
03
Chasing growth abroad, and watching it fail
What it means to keep building something when your own timeline suddenly feels uncertain.
04
A diagnosis that changed how I ran the business
How the decision got made, what the negotiations were really like, and the strange feeling of handing over something with my daughter's name on it.
05
Selling the company, and what it actually felt like
Why building something worth having was never just about keeping it, and what I've chosen to do with it since.
06
The giving mindset
For years I've gotten some version of the same question, from founders, from people after a talk, from strangers on LinkedIn:
How did you actually do it?
How do you build something premium from scratch, get people to trust it, and keep the quality when cutting corners would be so much easier?
I never had a short answer. This book is the long one.
People keep asking me how we built Carmen's Best, and I finally wrote the whole answer down.
Beyond the Scoop: The Carmen's Best Story
P480
Online + Fully Booked + National Book Store
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Where to find it
How to build a brand people genuinely love
How to stay disciplined when it costs you
How a health scare I didn't see coming changed how I looked at all of it
And for those wondering what comes after, I also share the story I get asked about most these days: the acquisition, and what it really felt like to hand over the company that carries my daughter's name.
If you're building something of your own, or dreaming about it, I wrote this for you.
How to build a brand people genuinely love
How to stay disciplined when it costs you
How a health scare I didn't see coming changed how I looked at all of it
Inside, you'll find what I wish someone had told me when I was starting out:
From the book, "Beyond the Scoop: The Carmen's Best Story"
"There are many reasons to quit. Find your one reason to continue"
Rejection, setbacks, a cancer diagnosis, a pandemic that could have derailed everything, this is the reason I found to keep going through all of it. I hope it helps you find yours.
A signature workshop or a keynote shaped around your industry, either way, your team leaves with specific, practical lessons on building something people trust and knowing when it's time to let go.
Give your team lessons from someone who's actually built and sold a business.
Speaking & Workshops
This workshop brings together real entrepreneurial experience and practical mindset tools to help leaders think, decide, and act like owners.
Participants shift from idea-based thinking to a clear ownership mindset with practical frameworks they can apply immediately.
The Entrepreneur Mindset
Signature Workshop
Shift from idea-based thinking to a clear ownership mindset, seeing your business as something you're building, not just running.
01
Think Like an Owner
Practical frameworks for making high-stakes calls with clarity, even when the "right" answer isn't obvious yet.
02
Decide Like an Owner
Turn the mindset shift into consistent, applicable action, tools you can use the next day, not just takeaways you write down.
03
Act Like an Owner
Tell me who's in the room and I'll build the talk around it: brand building, family business succession, resilience, or sustainable growth.
Customized for your audience
Keynote Talks
Building & Scaling a Premium Brand
Topics I've Spoken On
Family Business & Succession
Sustainable Branding for Food Brands
Resilience & Risk in Entrepreneurship
Great businesses aren't built by chance.
They're built by leaders who think differently, make better decisions, and execute with purpose.
Build a Business That Lasts
Rather work through this on your own first?
Self-Paced Course
Watch on your schedule
Strategy + Mindset
The business lessons, and the mindset behind them.
Two Instructors
Paco Magsaysay & Anda del Rosario
In The Carmen's Best Business Blueprint, entrepreneur Paco Magsaysay and executive coach Anda del Rosario combine real-world business experience with leadership coaching to help you think beyond the day-to-day.
Through inspiring stories, practical frameworks, and proven business strategies, you'll develop the strategic thinking, out-of-the-box mindset, and leadership skills needed to build a business that stands out, adapts to change, and creates lasting value.
Coach Anda
Paco Magsaysay
HERE, You'll Learn How To:
The Instructors
Think strategically instead of reacting tactically.
Develop innovative, out-of-the-box solutions to business challenges.
Make better decisions with confidence and clarity.
Build a brand customers trust and recommend.
Grow your business without losing what makes it exceptional.
Lead yourself and your team through change, setbacks, and growth.
Build a business designed for long-term success.
Think strategically instead of reacting tactically.
Develop innovative, out-of-the-box solutions to business challenges.
Make better decisions with confidence and clarity.
Build a brand customers trust and recommend.
Grow your business without losing what makes it exceptional.
Lead yourself and your team through change, setbacks, and growth.
Build a business designed for long-term success.
Your business will only grow as far as your thinking and leadership allow it to grow. This course will help you strengthen both.
From the book, "Beyond the Scoop: The Carmen's Best Story"
"Make something people come back for"
That's the whole philosophy behind Carmen's Best, and probably the simplest business advice I've got.
I was born in Quezon City in 1968. After grade school at La Salle Greenhills, I moved to Houston, Texas, finished high school there, and earned a degree in Marketing (with a minor in Philosophy) from the University of St. Thomas. I later completed a Master's in Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management.
Carmen's Best is what I'm best known for, but I also run Asian Vision, a cable TV and broadband company my father founded, which I took over in 1995 and still lead today across Batangas, Quezon, and Zambales. I'm the son of Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Isabel Delgado, and the grandson of President Ramon Magsaysay.
Francisco "Paco" Magsaysay
About Paco
Above all, I'm a father to three, Jaime, Mikey, and Carmen, who the brand is named after.
My work with Carmen's Best has been recognized with the 2018 Agora Award, the 2022 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines award, and the Emerging Entrepreneur Award from the Italian Chamber of Commerce.
Esquire, Tatler Asia, and Philippine Primer have all covered his journey building Carmen's Best.
Featured by some of the region's most respected publications.
Press
The fullest telling of the founding story, from the dairy farm's excess milk to a decade-defining premium brand, and the resilience behind it.
The Success Story of Carmen's Best Founder Paco Magsaysay
Philippine Primer
Read the feature →
A candid Q&A on how a small ice cream maker became a household name, and what surprised him most about its success.
Small Talk: Paco Magsaysay
Tatler Asia
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A deeper look at his leadership approach: staying laser-focused, staying hands-on, and treating distributors as partners instead of customers.
Carmen's Best Founder Paco Magsaysay on Crafting Ice Cream and a Winning Strategy
The Business Manual
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Business lessons straight from his own playbook: knowing your strengths, staying true to your brand, and never cutting corners.
5 Ways How Paco Magsaysay Made Carmen’s Best the Number One Premium Ice Cream in the Philippines
Esquire Philippines
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