Auntie Anne's is now in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - For those like me, who have never heard about Auntie Anne's pretzels until recently, allow me  to share with you a brief story on how it all started.

The year was 1987. The place was the Farmer’s Market in Maryland, Pennsylvania.

Anne and Jonas Beiler, after a “fortunate” ingredients mix up and, with a sense of experimentation, produced a pretzel, that later on came to be known as “Better than the best you’ve ever tasted.” The following year, they launched Auntie Anne’s Inc. Its first franchise opened in 1989.

Twenty two years later, the pretzel products mushroomed in 44 states and in more than 22 countries including, Canada, China, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

It took a little while for the pretzels to reach our island from the capital city, until two enterprising gentlemen, good buddies Toto Locsin and Eduard Loop, together with Manila-based Paula Larrazabal  Bondoc, launched the first ever Auntie Anne’s in Cebu’s  SM  City, the biggest shopping mall outside of Metro Manila.

Cebu Provincial Governor Gwen Garcia and movie heartthrob Richard Gomez, dear friends of the franchisees, were guests of honor.

While Auntie Anne’s Pretzel is undeniably shaped like a pretzel, it is most definitely not just a pretzel. The fresh, sweet taste coupled with a light, golden brown, bread-like texture comes in a variety of flavors.

The core product lineup includes the Original, Cinnamon Raisin, Glazin’ Raisin, Almond and Bacon Bits, as well as Stix and the Cheese Dog.  To complement the selections, the brand’s famous cold beverages, such as the old-fashioned, freshly squeezed lemonade, iced tea, choco coffee twist and its gourmet coffee selection of classic, hazelnut, French vanilla and Columbian Dekaf can be enjoyed.

The distinctive blue, white and yellow stall on the upper ground floor of the mall’s The Northwing is professionally staffed with a service crew trained in food preparation, customer service and store operation and maintenance.

Today Auntie Anne’s supports more than 300 franchisees with over 1,000 locations worldwide, having recently rolled its billionth pretzel.