Mocha Blends now at SM Northwing

To boost market presence and strengthen its brand awareness in the city, family-owned Cieko Food Corporation, the Cebu franchisee of Mocha Blends, decided to open another branch in the city after two years of operating their first franchised shop at the Skyrise in IT Park.

Charmaine Mara Young, the store manager said their family saw the potential of establishing the Mocha Blends brand in Cebu and they perceived that a mall location is perfect because it has huge market traffic.

“There are already several competitors in IT Park so we branched out to market our product for it to be known here in Cebu and the mall has a huge traffic that will help us to achieve that goal so we took the risk and opened an outlet in SM,” said Young.

She said that Cebu’s coffee industry has always been a booming sector because more and more Cebuanos are becoming coffee lovers.

“The industry is growing and very competitive because the number of coffee drinkers is increasing. Few years ago, Cebuanos are just content in drinking coffee in their household but now coffee drinking in coffee shops has become more like a habit and a lifestyle,” she said.

Mocha Blends is an Australian concept that was conceptualized in 2001 by a young entrepreneur who lived and trained in Australia.

Wanting to share his experience to his countrymen, the entrepreneur created the first gourmet coffee shop in the Philippines under Mocha Blends Corporation in 2002 and opened the first Mocha Blends gourmet coffee shop in Quezon City.

In 2003, Mocha Blends was recognized as the “Most Outstanding Gourmet Coffee Shop” by the Consumer Choice Awards.

It was also recognized as a super brand in 2006 as it served at the forefront of Philippine businesses especially in the local coffee shop industry.

Right now, Mocha Blends has around 40 branches nationwide and one of which is located in Indonesia.

Sheryl Moya-Nepomuceno, its brand and communication manager said that Mocha Blends is different from other typical and well-known coffee shop chains in the market today because they serve more than just coffee as they have a wide array of food menu.

Aside from their signature hot and cold coffee drinks, Mocha Blends also offers cakes, pastries, pastas, sandwiches, burgers and even rice meals in its menu.

Nepomuceno said that to stay competitive in the country’s challenging coffee industry which has been flocked by international brands; they are looking at building on their food offerings as an edge. – Rhia de Pablo