Chef Gerick Manalo Builds Earthlab Around the Challenge of Everyday Habits

The chef’s own difficulty with eating vegetables shaped a business focused on taste and convenience.

Chef Gerick Manalo knew how to prepare vegetables for other people. Making them a consistent part of his own meals was another matter.

That gap between professional knowledge and personal habits became the starting point for EarthLab & Co., the Filipino wellness brand he founded.

“As a chef, I could tell you exactly what a balanced plate should look like, how to prepare vegetables, and even make them taste good for other people,” Manalo said. “But when it came to my own plate, I was the one avoiding them.”

When his schedule became busier, vegetables were often among the first things he skipped. He tried blending greens at home, but the taste made the routine difficult to maintain.

The experience led him to approach product development through a familiar culinary question: would someone enjoy it enough to return to it?

EarthLab’s first product, 21 Greens + Antioxidants Power Blend, took more than two years of formulation, sourcing, tasting, and production work.

According to the company, the blend combines greens, fruits, antioxidant-rich ingredients, and probiotics. Manalo said flavor and texture were central to repeated testing, alongside packaging and production decisions.

“For me, taste was non-negotiable,” he said.

The founder describes the product as an option intended to make getting more greens convenient. He is also clear about its role: “We’re not here to replace a healthy diet.”

That distinction keeps the story grounded in the problem he set out to address—consistency—without treating a packaged product as a substitute for balanced meals.

Building the business also required decisions beyond the kitchen, from supplier selection and production costs to setbacks during development.

Manalo said the experience reinforced his preference for manageable changes rather than sweeping promises.

His future plans follow the same approach: any additional EarthLab product should begin with a specific consumer need.

For now, the brand’s story reflects a chef applying his understanding of flavor to a difficulty he knew personally—making a well-intentioned routine something he could realistically keep doing.

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