Before Conti’s became one of the most beloved food brands in the Philippines, Carole Conti was just a young mom doing catering gigs out of her home kitchen—in a different country.
Fresh out of a successful corporate career, Carole had moved to the U.S. to start a family. She’d spent years working at Procter & Gamble, NCR (now AT&T), and the Aguirre Group—but even in college, food had always been her passion. “Even from the start, I really wanted to have a restaurant and go into business,” she says. “Even during college, I wanted to take up what was called home economics during our time.”
Her mom had nudged her toward finance, just like her sister. But after having a child in the U.S., Carole found herself returning to what she truly loved—cooking. With no storefront, no staff, and a baby to care for, she started offering home-cooked meals and baked goods to clients in her local community.
“I was able to do it on my own at home for maybe two or three years, and it was okay,” she recalls. “I had a baby, so it was kind of hard to manage the business alone… I thought it would be easier to do it in the Philippines because there was more help.”
That decision—to bring her dream home—changed everything.
Back in BF Homes Parañaque, Carole proposed starting a restaurant with her sisters, Cecile and Angie. Cecile found a nearby space, and Carole knew instantly: this was it. “My sister Cecile was able to find a place and showed me. I said, ‘Okay, I think this is a good place in BF Homes.’”
In 1997, the first Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant was born. They started small, cooking and catering out of a home kitchen. “We were doing it in the small kitchen at home,” Carole remembers.
Each sister played a unique role. Carole took care of finances and kitchen operations, Angie handled PR and marketing, and Cecile focused on logistics and support. Word of mouth did the rest.
Over the next two decades, Conti’s evolved into a national brand known for its Mango Bravo cake, baked salmon, and Filipino-style comfort food. By 2018, it had grown so significantly that Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation acquired a 70% stake in Conti’s Holdings Corp (CHC), the company that owns and operates the chain.
But in September 2024, a new chapter began. Uy sold both Conti’s and Wendy’s Philippines to entrepreneur Crystal Jacinto, backed by her husband, Jaya Sudhir, marking a new era for the brand Carole and her sisters had lovingly built from the ground up.
Looking back, Carole credits those early U.S. experiences—balancing business and motherhood—for shaping her entrepreneurial grit. “It wasn’t easy, but that time taught me what it really takes to run a food business,” she says.
Her story is proof that iconic brands can be born in the most humble kitchens—and that family, passion, and persistence can take them far beyond what anyone imagined.
