Chowking is king

Chowking Food Corp., champion of Oriental fastfood, dislodged McDonald’s in 2003 as the country’s number two chain in terms of store count. Last year, with P8.3 billion in revenues, it also became number two in terms of sales, which are projected to grow to P9.2 billion by yearend 2006.

Currently with 342 stores to support, Chowking president and chief executive officer Rufino L. Dela Rosa says the heart of operations lies in the automated commissaries, with lifeblood flowing to the network through its five regional depots. All outlets need to be well-stocked and live up to Chowking’s desired standards for food, service and cleanliness.

Otherwise, certified chefs would have nothing to cook, and sales would not grow the way it has in the last three years.

The company invested P350 million in its modern, one-hectare commissary in Sucat to complement its original Muntinlupa commissary. Most of product processing, such as central marination and pre-cooking, is done at the commissary level, and food is delivered to the stores ready for final cooking.

"Commissary operations are critical because we have so many products in the stores. We must ensure consistency in the products, that the taste is standardized or the same in all stores, and that the food is consistently delicious," said Dela Rosa. The Chowking menu lists over a hundred Filipino and Chinese dishes in various sizes, flavors and meal combinations intended to serve families and office workers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Sucat plant, in operation only since the last quarter of 2004, was named "Most Outstanding Meat Processing Plant in Metro Manila" in 2005 by the National Meat Inspection Service.

This is where dimsum is prepared by a mechanized system so that, untouched by human hands, they reach the stores measuring and weighing the same, and containing exactly the same combination of ingredients.

Finally, the company checks on the entire process from commissary to store to customer through a comprehensive Research and Development and Quality Assurance system, as well as a customer feedback system that allows sending comments by text message service, in-store evaluation forms and through the website, http://www.chowking.com.

The regional depots are just as important to the efficient operations of the chain. These are located in Carmen, Pangasinan for Northern Luzon, Cebu and Iloilo for the Visayas, and Davao and Cagayan de Oro for Mindanao.

The training of cooks is also closely linked to commissary operations. Each store has eight certified cooks who know exactly what to do with every item delivered from the commissary.

But with new stores opening at the rate of about 40 a year, Dela Rosa knows the time is ripe to plan for a third commissary. "Our existing plants can actually serve up to 500 stores, but that means we only have a few years before we reach capacity."

Although Chowking trails listed parent company Jollibee Foods Corp. by a wide margin, the alliance forged in 2000 has proven mutually beneficial to both companies. Jollibee leads the local fastfood industry with over five hundred stores and Chowking lays claim to being the country’s top Oriental quick-service restaurant chain.

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Chowking Food Corp.
Jollibee Center, San Miguel Avenue
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
635-8888