According to its official website, Merzci has served the Bacolod market since 1995 and maintains an extensive retail footprint throughout the country.[1]

Foundation (1995)

Merzci traces its origins to 1995, when CM & Sons Food Products, Inc. was established as a family enterprise in Bacolod City. The business initially operated as a small bakery supplying bread to a single store at Libertad Market.[1]

The original brand name was “Merci,” derived from the French word for “thank you.” As the business grew, its products gained popularity due to a combination of affordability and quality, leading to the opening of additional branches and supply partnerships with dealers throughout Negros.[1]

Expansion into food service

Over time, Merzci evolved beyond a conventional bakery by adding a fast-food operation that offered inexpensive snacks and short-order meals. This development established the three-part business model that defines the brand today:[1]

• Pasalubong: Packaged regional delicacies and gift products
• Bakeshop: Fresh bread, pastries, and cakes
• Fast food: Affordable meals and snacks

The company describes these three pillars as the primary ways customers experience the brand.[1]

Rebranding to Merzci

In 2014, the company updated its trade name from Merci to Merzci following a trademark application with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. The rebranding was launched in October 2014 under the tagline “The New and Improved MERZCI.” The addition of the letter “Z” was intended to signal an appeal to Generation Z and accompanied broader improvements in product quality, branch standards, customer service, and overall brand experience.

Merzci’s product identity is deeply connected to the culinary culture of Bacolod and Negros Occidental.

Piaya

Piaya is considered Merzci’s signature product. It is a thin, unleavened Filipino flatbread traditionally filled with muscovado sugar. Merzci states that its piaya is made using muscovado derived from Negros sugarcane. The dough is pressed thin and baked to achieve a lightly crisp exterior with a sweet filling.[1]

Available varieties include:

• Original Piaya
• Ube Piaya
• Mango Piaya

The product is positioned as a quintessential Bacolod pasalubong item.[1]

Napoleones

Napoleones is another major product strongly associated with Negros Occidental. Merzci’s version consists of layers of flaky puff pastry, custard cream, and a sweet confectioner’s glaze. An ube variant is also available. For visitors to Bacolod, napoleones serves as both a dessert and a popular take-home gift.[1]

Biscocho

Biscocho is a traditional toasted bread product commonly enjoyed with coffee or other hot beverages. Merzci lists biscocho among its core pasalubong offerings.[1]

Butterscotch

Merzci’s butterscotch is a chewy, buttery packaged confection included in its principal line of pasalubong products.[1]

Other pasalubong items

The company’s broader product range includes:

• Barquillos
• Mango tarts
• Various pastries
• Biscuits
• Other regional delicacies

Many of these items are packaged specifically for pasalubong, making them convenient gifts for travelers and those returning from Bacolod.[1]

Merzci stores function as neighborhood bakeries in addition to being pasalubong centers. The company states that its bakeshop produces more than 60 varieties of baked goods, ranging from everyday pandesal to ensaymada, cakes, and other pastries.[1]

This dual function allows the brand to serve two distinct consumer segments:

• Local daily consumers: Residents purchasing bread, pastries, cakes, and snacks for regular consumption.
• Tourists and gift-givers: Visitors buying boxed piaya, napoleones, biscocho, and other specialties to bring home.

This combination distinguishes Merzci from standalone souvenir shops.[1]

Merzci operates fast-food outlets alongside its bakery and pasalubong businesses. The menu features Filipino and Visayan-style quick meals, including:

• Batchoy
• Silog meals
• Siopao
• Short-order meals
• Snacks and other affordable food items

The concept focuses on providing inexpensive and quick meals, particularly for travelers and commuters. This service is especially prominent in branches located near transportation hubs and major commercial areas.[1]

The concept of pasalubong is central to Merzci’s brand positioning. In Filipino culture, pasalubong refers to gifts brought home for family, friends, or colleagues after traveling. Merzci has built its identity around transforming Bacolod’s food culture into portable, giftable products.[1]

Its distinctive red-and-yellow packaging and assortment of boxed delicacies reinforce this positioning. The company explicitly markets its products as items that customers can carry out of Bacolod to share with others elsewhere. Consequently, Merzci functions as both a food company and a cultural ambassador for the city.[1]

Merzci Piaya Land is a specialized facility located in Bacolod described by the company as a state-of-the-art pasalubong manufacturing center. Visitors can observe the production process, including how piaya dough is prepared, filled, and baked, while learning about the history of the delicacy.[2]

This initiative transforms the brand from a purely retail entity into a food tourism destination. The facility caters to families, school groups, tourists, and individuals interested in Filipino food production and Bacolod’s culinary heritage.[2]

Behind the retail brand is CM & Sons Food Products, Inc., which operates as a food manufacturer. The company maintains standards for its manufacturing processes and continually develops its product lines across bakery, pasalubong, and fast-food categories.[2]

Production capabilities have also expanded beyond traditional baked goods. Company records indicate diversification into purified drinking water beginning in 2003, including the Merci Purified Drinking Water and Vitalife Purified Drinking Water brands.[1]

While rooted in Bacolod, Merzci’s retail network extends to Negros, Iloilo, Aklan, Cebu, and Manila. The company advertises more than 70 branches, though exact counts may vary across different sections of its website.[2]

Current locations in and around Bacolod include:

• Merzci Mayfair – Bakeshop and Pasalubong
• Merzci Pasalubong Factory (Hervias Village II)
• Merzci Burgos – Bakeshop, Fastfood and Pasalubong
• Merzci BREDCO – Bakeshop, Fastfood and Pasalubong
• Merzci Bacolod-Silay Airport – Bakeshop & Pasalubong
• Merzci Cuadra – Bakeshop and Pasalubong
• Merzci Ayala Capitol Central – Bakeshop and Pasalubong
• Merzci Mandalagan – Bakeshop & Pasalubong
• Merzci Singcang – Bakeshop & Pasalubong Center
• Merzci SMX Bacolod (North Wing) – Pasalubong
• Merzci Gonzaga – Bakeshop, Fastfood and Pasalubong
• Merzci Gatuslao – Bakeshop, Fastfood and Pasalubong
• Merzci Robinsons Bacolod – Bakeshop and Pasalubong
• Merzci SM Bacolod South Wing – Pasalubong
• Merzci Libertad – Bakeshop, Fastfood and Pasalubong

The presence of a branch at Bacolod-Silay Airport is strategically significant, as airports serve as natural distribution points for pasalubong.[1]

Merzci’s brand identity is defined by several interconnected elements:

• Bacolod association: The company deliberately aligns itself with Bacolod City, known as the City of Smiles, with products serving as edible representations of the locale.
• Negros food heritage: Products like piaya, muscovado sugar, and napoleones connect the brand to the agricultural and culinary history of Negros Island, particularly its sugar industry.
• Accessibility: Rather than positioning items exclusively as premium delicacies, Merzci combines pasalubong with everyday bakery goods and affordable meals.
• Filipino gifting culture: The pasalubong model appeals to travelers and overseas Filipinos seeking products to bring home or send to relatives.
• Modernization of tradition: The 2014 transition from Merci to Merzci reflects an effort to give a traditional regional food business a contemporary identity while retaining its core products and market.

Merzci plays a significant role in Bacolod’s reputation as a food destination. While the city is famous for dishes like chicken inasal, Merzci has built a standardized retail network around sweets and pastries. By offering a portfolio of Bacolod food souvenirs rather than a single iconic product, its stores serve as recognizable points where visitors can obtain multiple local specialties in one location.[1]

Merzci operates Merzci Cares, a community-oriented initiative. Activities include feeding drives, relief operations, and community work in Negros. The company has also developed nutrition-focused products for feeding and school programs in coordination with organizations and government agencies such as DepEd, DOST-FNRI, and DSWD.[1]

Merzci is the consumer-facing trade name operated by CM & Sons Food Products, Inc. The parent company identifies itself as a food manufacturer and designates Merzci as its flagship brand.[2]

Merzci represents a regional Philippine food company that successfully expanded a local bakery into a broader national brand. Its business model integrates manufacturing, retail, bakery operations, fast food, tourism, and pasalubong sales. Its most notable contribution is the commercialization and distribution of Bacolod and Negros delicacies, particularly piaya and napoleones, to markets outside their traditional geographic area. Effectively, Merzci transforms Bacolod’s food culture into products that can be consumed locally, purchased as gifts, shipped nationwide, or experienced through food tourism.[1]

• 1995: CM & Sons Food Products, Inc. established as a family enterprise in Bacolod; business begins as a small bakery.[1]
• Late 1990s–2000s: Bakery operations expand with additional branches and dealers throughout Negros.[1]
• 2003: Company diversifies into purified drinking water.[1]
• 2014: Trade name changes from Merci to Merzci following trademark activity.
• October 2014: Brand launches as “The New and Improved MERZCI.”
• 2020s: Expansion of pasalubong, bakery, fast-food, online delivery, and manufacturing presence.
• Present: Operates as a major Bacolod-centered pasalubong and bakery brand with branches beyond Negros and a dedicated Piaya Land food-tourism facility.[1]

1. https://www.merzci.com.ph
2. About Us – MERZCI – Best Bacolod Pasalubong