Park ‘n Go bakeshop to open premium outlets nationwide

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu-based bakery brand Park 'n Go has ventured into the high-end bakery concept sensing the growth for health-friendly and quality conscious customer segment in the Philippines.

  Park 'n Go Bakeshop Franchising System Inc., chief operations officer (COO) Judel Rama Ty said in an interview yesterday that the company will open at least 10 to 20 Park 'n Go Premium outlets across the country, specifically in secondary cities which high-end bakery concept is not yet being introduced.

 Park 'n Go Premium outlets offer the highest quality bread and pastry products, using the traditional "sponge and dough" method, with raw materials are of highest quality in the market.

The company has already established its pilot outlet and had been operating for a year now, located at the corner Cabangcalan and Talamban in the northern part of Cebu.

According to Ty although the company has enjoyed brisk business for its mainstream Park 'n Go outlets all over the country, it has noted a growing customer demand for a much health-friendly, and higher quality bread and pastry products.

Park 'n Go Premium products, Ty said are baked in traditional way, getting away from highly commercialized oven, and its products' mixture are specialized and much richer in ingredients.

Also, he said the Premium brand is not using raw materials that have preservatives to ensure a much healthier choice of bread and pastry lovers.

Due to its strict monitoring in quality, Ty said the company will not offer the higher-end for franchise packages, and the company will operate all the upcoming outlets of the Park 'n Go Premium bakeshop chain.

Park 'n Go bakeshop chain was established in 1991 by the Rama family. Now, it has over 200 outlets around the country, including Metro Manila, and some areas in Luzon. The Rama siblings have decided to divide the business based on area jurisdiction.

Rama-Ty family is now operating over a 100 Park 'n Go outlets, all company owned, as the group decided to operate on its own in order to ensure quality of service and products.

Today, the business in the Rama-Ty said is pass on to the second generation and now handled by the eldest of Alicia Rama-Ty, Judel who has extensive training and degree holder of culinary arts education.

A graduate from Culinary Institute of America, in California, with a degree of Baking and Pastry course, Judel said he has seen an evolution of bread and pastry products preference in the Philippines, and high quality bread, baked in old and traditional way with healthier ingredients is fast moving.

Along with the company's plan to open for Park 'n Go bakeshop in unsaturated areas across the country, the Premium brand will also hit the secondary cities where high-end bakeshop concept is not yet introduced.

He said Park 'n Go Premium is going to pioneer the entry of higher quality and a bit more high-priced bread and pastry products in areas where other bakery chains have yet to enter.

According to Ty, despite the stiffer competition in the bakeshop industry in the country, with the entry of international and established brands, Filipinos' loyalty to patronizing Pinoy brands still prevails./JOB (FREEMAN)