Startup businessmen now prefer franchising

CEBU, Philippines – Despite the slowdown of the consumer market, a local pizza and burger joint continues to see growth in its franchising venture nationwide with more and more start up businessmen who now prefer a franchise system to ensure their return of investment.

“The inquiries that we got did not decrease even with the crisis because many want to venture into business nowadays and they prefer to get a franchise because of less hassle considering the in-placed systems,” shared Buns and Pizza Inc. marketing manager Elaine S. Quirante in an interview.

Quirante said that food franchises remain viable business ventures until this day because food continues to be a basic need of consumers.

“During a recent franchise exhibit in Manila, a lot of franchises showcased were food and the booths who received the most inquiries were food franchisers. People tend to invest on food than non-food because it’s a basic commodity so it’s easier to sell,” said Quirante.

She said that for Buns and Pizza, their brand continue to penetrate locations that are far from bigger food chains so that they can have a wider market share.

“Our logistics was designed to reach further to towns and this business model has worked for us. So far we get many inquiries in towns like Leyte and Samar and other parts of the country not currently served by the giants in the industry,” she said.

She said that with the crisis, they have decided to take measures to offset the negative impacts to their operations by pulling down their prices and looking out for more affordable suppliers and added variants such as rice meals in their menu to diversify their value proposition.

Buns and Pizza is franchised at P250,000, which include franchise fee, tables, chairs, oven and support and a restaurant type set-up can reach to around P600,000 initial investment with a guaranteed return in a year or less depending upon the location, said Quirante.

Right now, Buns and Pizza has over 100 branches nationwide after having started five years ago in Cavite and here in the Visayas, they have eight branches located in V. Gullas, Talamban, Balamban, Naga, Toledo, Danao, Compostela, Ormoc, and in Bohol.

Quirante said that this year they target to open 20 more branches and they have four upcoming openings in Tacloban, Cavite, Bulacan and in Tuguegarao.

Just recently, their company turned over the franchise of their Talamban branch to its new franchisee Eduardo A. Rubillos, a certified public accountant who is new to business. — Rhia de Pablo