There's a New Hipster Pomade in Grasa-Town

“Anong kailangan mo?” he asked.

“Beer. At kwento,” I replied.

We settled for a pizza joint along Pioneer in Mandaluyong instead (thankfully, the place serves beer).

I first met Bob almost 7 years ago in Zambales. Even then, he is the fashionable epitome (in Manila, at least) of the now popular subculture that is hipster-ism—tattooed, plain white tee, porontong, and his signature straw fedora, which he now substituted with a cap. Bob always unintentionally becomes the center of attention in any situation. Not because he wants it; it just naturally follows him around. He always had that carefree aura, but never in his wildest dreams thought that one day, he’d become an entrepreneur…until two years ago.

I was late for our weekend inuman, and Bob was sitting uncomfortably in a chair. He was wiping his sweat as I settle into mine. I asked where he came from. “Just delivered my last batch for today,” he answered. Of course, he is talking about his now famous-among-the-hipsters-of-Manila-pomada: Grasa.

As we order a bucket of beer and vegetable pizza for pulutan, he admits that the idea of making Grasa was introduced to him by two of our other friends in 2000 (in another inuman session of course), but he was too chicken then to give it a try. “So what made you finally do it?” I wondered out loud. “I think I was more confident now and our friends never stopped bombarding me with the idea.”

On my first gulp of my ice cold beer, he loudly declared that perfecting the Grasa formula did not happen overnight. He used to have a partner, but that partner was impulsive and impatient. He wanted to launch the product ASAP despite it without undergoing quality check. Bob decided to sever his ties with him because he knows that to concoct the perfect brew and scent for the pomade, the research and product development phase takes time. It took him 6 months to finally come up with the perfect formula and I think I am destined to be somehow part of Grasa because I was an unknowing witness (I was buying mason jars) when Bob bought the raw materials for the first batch for production. A few weeks later, I received a notification on Facebook from Grasa PH. It signaled the launch.

Not the best photo during the interview, but THE ONLY PHOTO.

With Bob’s easy lifestyle, charming demeanor, and distinct porma, he is his brand’s perfect poster boy. He is always against the flow. He could easily sell his products online, but instead, he chose to support underground weekly gupitans in Makati and Laguna. This grassroots marketing strategy is what lead the brand to the hipster, greaser, and underground communities in Manila. From there, people started noticing the tattooed man in white shirt with his bagful of Jose Rizal containers. Yuppies, bikers, and even girls would swarm his table just to admire the artsy packaging or buy a can. It is also this network why Grasa landed in some of the most bespoke barbershops in Manila.

It also helps that he is a musician. After 2 pizza slices and my third beer, Jomal Linao of Kamikazee was texting him asking for another can. “Ngayon, pag nanunuod kami ng gig, bigla na lang may lumalapit saken, nakikikamay, nakiki picture o kundi sinasabihan ako na “Kap, di ba ikaw po yung sa Grasa?” The attention is new and overwhelming, but he welcomes it.

The underground and hipster venues are not the only places that Grasa conquered. Just a little over 2 months into operation, a guy from California contacted Bob on Facebook saying that he wants to be a reseller. He went for it, shipping fees be damned! It proved to be one of the best business decisions he made because currently, Grasa is available in Texas, New York, and Florida. “So, your resellers are foreigners?” I asked. “No. Lahat Pinoy. Sa totoo lang, nagulat din ako pero after nung first shipment ko sa California, sunod-sunod na,” he explains. Besides the U.S., his home-brewed and Filipino made grasa is now available in some barber shops in Dubai and Qatar—and these are all because of friends.

“Sa totoo lang, kapag may nagsasabi saken na ‘Bob, galing mo naman, mag-isa mong napalago ang Grasa,’ lagi ko silang kino correct. Di lang naman ako ang Grasa. Tayong lahat ng tropa. Di ko naman masisimulan ‘to kung walang pangungulit ng mga barkada natin. Yung design ng container ko pati yung IPO ni Rzal, kinonsulta ko kina Marc at Jayong (respectively; Marc is a graphic designer and Jayong is a law student). Pati yung spot ko sa Lazada, dahil lang din yun sa kaibigan.” If Bob sounds thankful, he is. Not only for our friends, but for all the insights and lessons that he learned along the way.

He is first to admit that he knows nothing about running a business, “skate, tugtog, trabaho, inom—yun lang naman ang alam ko dati e.” But with Grasa, he had to learn everything from scratch about accounting, marketing, trends forecasting, market research, and of course, brewing. His Mom was scolding him at first because “ang bilis makaubos ng gas kapag nagluluto,” but now that his pomades have surpassed the break-even point, his family is supporting him all the way. He adds that these days, he read all sorts of magazines, attend bazaars and shows, and watch a lot of lifestyle shows to develop his next scent (throughout our inuman, he had to correct me twice because I kept saying flavor. “Flavor is for food,” he explains). At the back of my mind, this is definitely a different Bob speaking.

After four bottles, we had to call it a night, but not before asking him what’s next for Grasa. “Definitely an apparel line to complete the whole greaser/hipster look,” he enthusiastically answered. “Ain’t that hard, Bob?” “Alam mo, ang isa sa pinakaimportante na natutunan ko sa Grasa, lahat ng bagay mahirap, pero kung di ka magpupursige, wala ka mararating.” I couldn’t agree more and we cheered to that.

Beer and kwento satisfied. 

You can find Grasa on Facebook here.