Food bazaar curator opens daily market

CEBU, Philippines —  To widen its scope in helping start-up foodpreneurs to launch their products in the mainstream marketplace, Sugbo Mercado Food Bazaar Inc.(SMFBI) decided to open a daily food market.

SMFBI, the curator of Cebu's longest weekend market called Sugbo Mercado, will open another foodie's destination branded as "The Market by Sugbo Mercado” on June 19, 2018 at the North Reclamation Area (beside MO2). The Market will operate daily.

"We want to reinforce our advocacy in bringing up the entrepreneurial spirit of Cebuanos," said SMFBI managing director John Paul Chiongbian in a press conference.

The Market is a 3,000 square meter container-van food market concept. It houses 25 tenants with exclusive and fresh offerings, said Chiongbian.

Unlike, the weekend market concept of Sugbo Mercado, The Market by Sugbo Mercado is a six-day food bazaar from Tuesday until Sunday, from five in the afternoon to one in the morning.  According to Chiongbian, the company's aim is not only to provide more options for diners and reinforce Cebu's bid in food tourism, the facility is also opened in order to showcase the best local food brands in Cebu.

In line with its advocacy to help (struggling) start-up entrepreneurs (with marketable offerings), The Market by Sugbo Mercado will also provide office spaces for micro and small entrepreneurs who need working spaces.

The second-floor of the container-van concept facility will be offered as co-working space with coffee shops, Chiongbian announced. SMFBI's flagship project, the Sugbo Mercado weekend market in the Garden Bloc of Cebu IT Park, generates an average foot traffic of 5,000 customers per night.

Its Thursday to Sunday night operations usually fetches P1.5 million sales per night, accumulated from its 65 tenants, reported Michael Karlo Lim, SMFBI's marketing and communications director.

Sugbo Mercado in IT Park logs average gross sales of up to P1.5 million per night from its 65 tenants. The weekend food bazaar operates every Thursday to Sunday, Lim added.