WHEN research discovered that alcohol in mouthwash dries the mouth, and that dryness can in fact cause bad breath, Pascual Laboratories Inc. (Pascuallab) went to work on an effective mouthwash that would be acceptable to Filipinos even without the stinging alcohol.

There was a risk, said Mia Pascual-Cenzon, director for corporate communications and granddaughter of the pharmaceutical company?s founders, that the local market might not be ready for a ?radical? change. But, keeping true to the company?s commitment to social awareness, Pascuallab went on to launch the first locally made non-alcohol-based mouthwash.

Thanks to a successful TV ad campaign, the result is now a household-name mouthwash called OraCare.

Now on its 63rd year of operation, Pascuallab was born out of necessity during the aftermath of World War II. There was a demand for medicine but the prices were high, if not prohibitive, for most Filipinos who were rebuilding their lives.

With its first laboratories set up in the family garage, Pascuallab began producing alternative drugs to imported brands that were of equal quality yet more affordable, said Cenzon.

After years of staying as the country?s No. 14 company, Pascuallab is now in the 10th spot. The key to its growth, said Cenzon, is the company?s passion.

?The way we approach our work, the way we choose our product, the way we research what is good for the Filipinos, the way we treat our employees ? everything is still based on the moral values established by my grandparents,? she said.

Passion

The theme ?Passion for Health, Love for Life? is based on the company?s passion for excellence, moral uprightness, teamwork and social responsibility, said the newly installed Pascuallab president Manolo Escueta.

Take, for instance, the discovery of sugar in most mainstream toothpaste products. Like the alcohol-based mouthwash that keeps consumers in a vicious cycle of gargling mouthwash over and over to mask bad breath made worse by the same mouthwash, a toothpaste with sugar didn?t seem right, too, said Cenzo.

So this year, the company launched the OraCare Toothpaste, a sugar-free toothpaste with aloe vera to moisturize the gums. While priced a bit more compared to mainstream brands, OraCare Toothpaste is still more affordable than its imported counterparts.

?We are a local company that doesn?t pay royalties to a mother company or suppliers. Our cost is not as high and our prices are lower compared to multinational companies. We call this the superior consumer value, which doesn?t mean the lowest price in the market. It simply means we give consumers a better value for their money,? Escueta said.

Poten-Cee, for instance, is not only cheaper than most branded Vitamin C products. It also offers time-release tablets ? something more expensive brands don?t have, Cenzon said.

(Time-release element is crucial to Vitamin C tablets, because the body flushes out excess vitamins through fluids such as urine. With time release, the vitamin is released in the system in acceptable amounts throughout the day.)

?We?re hoping that because we?re passionate about health and life, the lives of our employees, ourselves, and the Filipinos will improve. We take this job and our contribution to society very seriously,? Cenzon said.

Natural line

When it launched its very successful asthma and cough product, Ascof, a project made in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Technology, Escueta said they were given the opportunity for product exclusivity. But Pascuallab chairman Dr. Abraham Pascual said it would benefit more people if the formula was shared.

Ascof, said Escueta, was the second fastest-selling product of Pascuallab, growing at 40 percent each year. Ascof is also the front-runner of the company?s ?Chemical or Natural? campaign.

The company?s 42-hectare farm in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, called Farm Leoni Agri Corp., is one of only two certified organic farms in the country. A member of the Organic Producers Trade Association of the Philippines, the farm produces the herbs the company uses for its natural line.

?Traditional medicine got a bad rap years ago as slow and ineffective medication. Today, we put the science in this tradition, refine the process through clinical studies so that we can guarantee its efficacy, and seal them in more acceptable forms, such as capsules,? Cenzon said.

Traditional or natural herbs may be making a comeback, but the key here is to also give consumers more choices. Cenzon said consumers could now choose from branded chemical-based medication, generic drugs or natural herbs.

?From the time my grandparents founded the company to my dad?s time, health [has always been] the work we do; it?s the business we?re involved in. Passion is the way we go about this work,? Cenzon said.