CCA, AIM team up for unique food entrepreneur program

Are you looking for new business opportunities? Would you like to learn how to prepare a business plan and translate this into a viable business venture? For the aspiring entrepreneur, the Center for Culinary Arts, Manila (CCA) together with the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE) of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) has developed a new program called Venture into Entrepreneurship (VIE) in the Food Industry.

Why go into the food business?

"A study conducted by the US Department of Commerce forecasts that the growth of the Philippines will come from the restaurant sector, where prospects remain bright," says chef Gene L. Cordova, CCA curriculum programs coordinator and marketing OIC. "Worldwide industry studies prove that food-related businesses continue to thrive even during hard economic times."

"The food industry is very flexible, particularly in terms of pricing," chef Gene, a business graduate with a concentration in management and marketing at Fordham University, as well as Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, explains. "For example, during hard times, fast-food chains can offer value meals. When the economy is good, then fine dining restaurants may do better."

"The Venture into Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry program is meant not only for those thinking of opening their own restaurants, but also for anyone interested in going into any food-related business," he clarifies. "You may be thinking of exporting Philippine delicacies, such as tuyo in oil or champorado, or you may want to develop Filipino dishes, such as microwavable TV dinners, or you may even be planning to put up your own squid ball cart. However, not everyone is gifted with the talent and skill to put up their own business."

Marinela "Badjie" G. Trinidad, CCA Manila general manager and director of finance, agrees. She says, "If you’re thinking of putting up your own business, it’s best you train with the experts first."

Trinidad, an MBA graduate from the University of the Philippines, also holds a masters degree in entrepreneurship from AIM’s Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE).

"I was fortunate to have the dean of ACE, Prof. Alejandrino Ferreria, as my guru," she relates.

It was while she was taking the 18-month intensive course that she got the idea of starting a partnership between CCA, Manila – of which her mother, Susana P. Guerrero, is founder and president – and AIM.

Trinidad relates that it was her mother who first ventured into the food business.

"My mother who studied nutrition and home economics was newly married to my father, doctor-lawyer Alfredo Guererro, who was in medical school," she relates. "She had a restaurant along the university belt which was popular for its good food. But she was not so good in handling the management side of the business. One time, she had a big order for a catering, so she had to close the restaurant. Then she got sick. It was difficult balancing her duties as a young housewife and budding entrepreneur."

In the late 1980s, the family again ventured into the food business.

"It was mostly a matter of trial and error," she recalls. "It was the right time to open a business. There were lots of opportunities for fast-food outlets and cafeterias."

They managed cafeterias in office buildings and banks. They also put up Country Kitchen, at Robinsons Galleria, and Cravings along Katipunan Ave., which became a big success.

"But we still did not make all the right moves," she intimates. "It takes more than just gut feel, especially when you want to avoid mistakes and make things happen the right way."

With her masters degree in entrepreneurship, Badjie has gained more confidence in making the right moves in her family’s thriving food business.

"If you’re thinking of putting up your own business, it’s expected that 10 percent of your total budget goes to paying consultancy fees," chef Gene observes. "With VIE, you will have no need to hire a consultant. You will not only learn how to put up your own business but also how to be a consultant yourself. About 90 percent of our chef-instructors at CCA are part-time consultants in the R&D departments of big private corporations, such as Nestlé Philippines and San Miguel Corporation."

"VIE is an innovative and unique program especially designed for all those who want to venture into entrepreneurship in the food industry," he explains. "It is a six-month course structured into a two-loop program. The first loop exposes the participants to the varied experiences of entrepreneurs. It also presents an opportunity to gain an understanding of the entrepreneur’s personality, preferences, and values, including entrepreneurial success factors and pitfalls. You will gain the learning tools for understanding yourself, the entrepreneur, and the environment, as well as for identifying opportunities for setting up new ventures."

"The first loop will teach the participants creative and critical thinking processes, as well as the tools and techniques for opportunity scanning, screening, selecting, micro market and location assessment, product concep-tualization and development," he elaborates. "The first 14 days will be dedicated to classroom lectures at AIM and CCA. The expected output from the participants will be a personal and proposed enterprise vision and mission, an evaluation of fit between personal and enterprise vision and mission, and a choice of a business or project that they intend to pursue."

"The second loop will teach the students how to put together the different components of the enterprise plan, as well as how to formulate strategies for the successful implementation of the plan," he says. "The second loop consists of several sub-modules that cover the different components of the enterprise plan, like marketing, operations, finance, legal and organizational aspects. Then, the participants will put the plan together, as well as formulate entry strategies and implementation plans."

"Included also is an intensive culinary course where the students will learn all about kitchen layout, for example, as well as food terms," Trinidad adds. "The case studies will all be about food."

As a culminating activity, participants will be asked to present prototypes of their product or enterprise at a three-day expo.

"The expo aims to provide participants with an opportunity to experience the reality of producing and marketing their product or business in a simulated market setting," she remarks. "It is truly a unique program where participants will benefit from the expertise and competence of both AIM, in business management and entrepreneurship, as well as CCA, in the culinary arts."

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Enrolment is ongoing until March 7. For inquiries, call CCA Manila marketing officer Lotees Dell Q. Palacios at 928-8167, 928-8255, 426-4835, 426-4837, 426-4840 and 426-4841 local104 or AIM program managers Luvy Villanueva and Lorna Balina at 892-4011 to 25. Classes start on March 17.