4 inspiring tips on becoming the next big food entrepreneur

MANILA, Philippines – Mercato Centrale hosts a competition for aspiring food entrepreneurs every year. Dubbed as “The Next Big Food Entrepreneur”, it challenges each participant in certain areas of the food business like food quality and packaging, visual merchandising, marketing, and customer service.

This year, Chubby Tuesday, a group of four new college graduates who created a signature root beer float sauce to spice up their burgers, has been named The Next Big Food Entrepreneur.

Here are some inspiring takeaways from these young achievers:

1. Start with a passion.

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a culinary or business graduate to become a food entrepreneur. The new grads behind Chubby Tuesday didn’t have the relevant college degrees to start a burger business. They are, in fact, Communication Arts graduates.

But why did they choose food as their first business venture? Vincent Gregorio of Chubby Tuesday shared that he and his team are all passionate about good food.

“It started with a tradition. We would get together on Tuesdays. We would cook food and have drinks and share stories. In a way, we found food to be our refuge,” he said in an interview with Philstar.com.

2. Conquer self-doubt.

Like with any new adventure, it’s common for entrepreneurs to feel worried about the next steps ahead. But in order to be successful, beating self-doubt is key.

Aside from many sleepless nights, the people behind Chubby Tuesday also had their share of insecurity and worries.

“There was a lot of self-doubt,” Gregorio shared, “but all we did lang is we pulled through every time…The next thing we know, nasa top three na kami.”

3. Get digital.

Getting the word out about your business would need to go beyond flyers and tarpaulins in this digital age. One effective and affordable tool that you can take advantage of is social media.

Chubby Tuesday relied heavily on social media to market their business, call for their friends’ support and connect with their customers. Facebook Live and Twitter, in particular, helped them to engage with the community. They also used Hootsuite and Tweetdeck for managing their posts.

According to Gregorio, they also got a lot of support from Globe myBusiness, Mercato Centrale’s partner in the competition, who taught them how to better reach the right people on social media. It also gave them better insight on marketing strategies and how to refine the business processes involved.

4. Surround yourself with supportive people.

If there’s one piece of advice that Chubby Tuesday can share with aspiring food entrepreneurs, it’s one that anyone who wants to pursue a passion can keep:

“Surround yourself with people who continuously support you with what you do. You’ll find inspiration in them. They’re the ones who will keep you going.”

Chubby Tuesday brought home P100,000 startup capital, six months of free rent at Mercato Centrale markets, mentoring sessions with Mercato Centrale founders RJ Ledesma and Anton Diaz, P10,000 worth of McCormick products, Globe myBusiness advertising package worth P115,000, and food styling and photography and booth design and production workshops with Globe myBusiness, among many others.

While they still couldn’t find the words to describe how overwhelmed they are by the win, The Next Big Food Entrepreneur title holders for 2016 are looking forward to maximizing their free rent at Mercato to get to know their market better, expanding their product line in the future and opening up a brick-and-mortar store someday.

You can catch Chubby Tuesday in Mercato every weekend starting January 2017.

Inspired to pursue your dream to be a food entrepreneur? Create success with the right partner—Globe myBusiness. You don't have to face the challenges of being an entrepreneur on your own. Globe myBusiness helps you keep up by providing innovative and customizable solutions that give you the best value for your money. Sign up for the mailing list of Globe myBusiness and learn how it can help you create success.

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