BIZ BUZZ: Puregold turns fun run into grocery lifeline
Running used to mean burning calories. Now, it means bringing home groceries.
That’s the pitch of grocery chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc., which is turning its Hakot Relay into something closer to a moving pantry than a typical fun run.
At its Iloilo leg on April 25, the retailer handed out at least 12,000 grocery packs to participants—each one filled with daily essentials from pantry items to hygiene and cleaning supplies.
In a period of stubbornly high prices, the timing is hard to miss.
The event drew about 4,000 runners from across the Visayas, including Cebu, Bacolod, Antique and Panay, all converging along Iloilo’s Sunset Boulevard—not just for the race, but for the “hakot.”
The concept, which first gained traction in 2025 for its unusually generous race loot, is fast becoming a signature play for Puregold: Blending brand engagement with practical support.
This year’s edition kept the spectacle. There were race waves, finisher medals, merchandise and loot stations with surprise item drops. But the bigger draw remained the grocery packs—arguably more valuable than medals for many participants.
The crowd also got a dose of entertainment, with performances from OPM acts Skusta Clee and Flow G, turning the event into part race, part street festival.
Puregold president Vincent Co said the expansion of the Hakot Relay to the Visayas was part of the company’s effort to “give back in a simple but meaningful way.”
Behind that messaging is a sharper reality: Consumer brands are increasingly finding ways to stay relevant as households stretch budgets.
A grocery giveaway disguised as a race? That’s one way to do it.
More legs are lined up for southern Luzon and Metro Manila, suggesting the Hakot Relay is no one-off.
If anything, it signals how retail players are adapting—meeting customers where they are, even if that means at the finish line, with arms full of groceries.
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