SME  /  E-COMMERCE

By FedEx | First published: August 25, 2021    Updated: September 17, 2026

From beauty pageants to celebrity commissions, Filipino designer Jojo Bragais has built an international following for his distinctive footwear. Here’s how e-commerce, craftsmanship, and reliable cross-border shipping have supported the brand’s growth.

• Jojo Bragais has grown his Filipino shoe brand into an internationally renowned name, designing footwear for Miss Universe contestants and global celebrities.
• The brand’s success shows how international e-commerce can help small businesses reach overseas customers while carving out a competitive niche. 
• For high-value and event-specific products such as pageant heels, reliable packaging, smooth customs clearance, shipment visibility, and on-time delivery are essential to the customer experience.

A pair of pageant heels comes with a very strict deadline. They need to be crafted to fit, reach the right city before rehearsals or showtime, and arrive in pristine condition. For Jojo Bragais, these demands are part of running a Filipino shoe brand with star-studded customers from around the world.

But his career began in a much less glamorous setting. At 21, Jojo was working as a nurse, with shoemaking as a hobby. He started with two assistants, making shoes to order, before eventually building a footwear business around an unexpected niche: beauty pageants.

In 2014, after sponsoring a friend competing in Binibining Pilipinas, his shoes caught the attention of the pageant community. The opportunity eventually took him to one of the industry’s biggest stages. In 2021, Jojo Bragais became the official footwear sponsor of the 69th Miss Universe pageant. He later returned for the 71st edition, where all 83 contestants wore shoes he had designed.

Since then, the business has continued to evolve, with the Jojo Bragais online store now expanding beyond its signature pageant heels to include men’s footwear, sneakers, sandals, and accessories.

His client list has expanded, too. Jojo has been commissioned to create shoes for Britney Spears, Tyra Banks, and Mexican singer Thalia. Recent opportunities have even included offers to establish the brand in the US, although Jojo has chosen to continue building his business from the Philippines for now.

For a small business that began with two assistants, it has been quite a fabulous journey.

Designing shoes that have to perform

Jojo’s international profile may have grown, but his approach still starts with the product itself. “Most designers start with a sketch, but I do it the other way around! I make the shoes first, test them, and make adjustments if necessary,” he shared. “Just like the women who wear my designs, the shoes have to be beautiful and reliably support the wearer in their daily lives. Beyond aesthetics, comfort is paramount.”

This balance is especially important in pageantry. A pair of heels needs to look striking under stage lights while giving its wearer the confidence to walk, turn, and perform comfortably. For the 71st Miss Universe competition, for example, Jojo said one four-inch design took eight months of product development. He also customized the outsoles for the pageant stage so contestants could turn safely. 

It’s a useful lesson for any product-led business pursuing international e-commerce: growth starts with having a product that customers genuinely value. Digital channels and logistics can extend that reach, but the product still has to earn it.

When the shoes have somewhere important to be

Once the shoes have been designed and crafted, the next part of the job is getting them to customers. Shipping high-end or event-specific footwear comes with particular considerations. Shoes need to be protected from crushing, scuffing, and moisture during transit.

For pageants and special events, the delivery schedule can be tight. A shipment that arrives after the event has little practical value, no matter how beautiful the shoes may be. This is especially relevant to Jojo Bragais’ business, which creates footwear for pageant contestants and customers across markets such as the US and the Middle East.

Jojo experienced that pressure firsthand ahead of the 2021 Miss Universe pageant in Florida. “The very first time I spoke with FedEx was just after my logistics meeting with 2021 Miss Universe. I was really praying for a miracle, someone to help me deliver the shoes to Florida within a very short timeframe,” he shared. “It was a challenge to find a reliable courier to transport the shoes on such short notice – but we did it.”

For small brands pursuing overseas business expansion, logistics is an essential part of the customer experience. Accurate shipment details, appropriate packaging, customs clearance, delivery visibility, and predictable transit times can all influence whether an overseas order becomes a positive brand experience. As Jojo puts it: “A big part of that experience is receiving the shoes on time and in pristine condition.”

Turning e-commerce into a route to international customers

Jojo’s digital journey reflects how e-commerce for small businesses can accelerate international growth.

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its plans for new physical stores, the business leaned further into digital channels. Its website and social media presence allowed Jojo Bragais to continue reaching shoppers around the world. Today, the brand continues to sell online while maintaining a physical store in Quezon City, offering around 40 footwear designs, including shoes and sandals for both men and women.

For small businesses like Jojo Bragais, the next step is to ensure fulfillment keeps pace with online sales growth. As order volumes and destinations increase, reducing manual steps can make international e-commerce easier to manage.

FedEx Ship Manager, for example, allows businesses to connect supported e-commerce platforms and automatically import orders. Businesses can create shipping labels and commercial invoices in just one click, with tracking numbers synced back to their online stores.

For eligible e-commerce shipments, FedEx International Connect Plus is a day-definite B2C shipping service that typically delivers within two to three business days worldwide. The service offers a simple rate structure and includes end-to-end tracking, giving growing brands a cost-effective way to reach global customers.

The next stage for a Filipino shoe brand

More than a decade after starting out, Jojo is no longer simply trying to establish a name in the pageant world. His shoes have been worn by major beauty queens and commissioned for international celebrities, while his product range has expanded beyond pageant footwear. Today, he dreams of becoming an internationally recognized Filipino footwear brand.

Jojo remains optimistic about what that could mean for other Filipino creatives. “I see Filipino designers gaining worldwide recognition because we have so much talent and creativity."

His advice to aspiring designers and small business owners? “What you believe in is much more important than what other people think. You don’t need validation from other people. Your core has to be solid, and your passion has to be truly yours so that nothing can shake you.”

And for this Filipino shoe brand, that conviction has already taken a small shoemaking operation from the Philippines to some of the world’s biggest stages.