Food bazaar opens SRP outlet

CEBU, Philippines - Sugbo Mercado Food Bazaar Inc., starts serving the southern market as it opened yet another outlet at the South Road Properties, occupying a thousand square meter space at the City di Mare grounds.

It initially opened with 20 vendors last week. The event space can accommodate up to 60 vendors.

Sugbo Mercado marketing director Michael Karlo Lim said bringing the bazaar to the south is meant to boost entrepreneurship in the area at the same time responding to the clamor of diners to bring the food bazaar closer to communities.

"We are treating Sugbo Mercado-SRP as a pop-up event first, maybe for three months," said Lim adding that the longevity of the bazaar will depend on market reception.

Aside from serving as the "melting pot" for aspiring entrepreneurs, Sugbo Mercado is also helping their tenants to slowly create their individual business identity, starting off with making their businesses registered in the formal economy.

Sugbo Mercado, according to Lim, is now recognized by the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Tourism as an official food market bazaar.

The Cebu City government has also recognized the potential of the activity in terms of creating business for people and engaging even the young individuals to venture into entrepreneurship.

Among the start-up businesses that started in Sugbo Mercado that now has stand-alone stores outside the food bazaar are Papa Churros, Lord of the Ribs, Tahotally, and Ribslicious, among others.

SMFBI president John Paul Chiongbian already announced that the company will set up an incubation facility to hone, train and teach startup entrepreneurs who are frequently participating in bazaars to eventually establish their own "stand-alone" brands, or shops.

The SMFBI team, Chiongbian said will start coordinating with concerned agencies like DTI, financial institutions, local government units, to access trainings, resources to help budding businesses.

The dining and lifestyle destination Sugbo Mercado started in September last year at the Garden Bloc of Cebu IT Park. It initially started with 25 artisan, homegrown, food and lifestyle tenants.  Midway this year, the Cebu Business Park outlet was opened.

After SRP, the company plans to open a branch in Mactan.

Chiongbian claimed that the company is so far the first organizer of all-year-round food bazaar in the country today. (FREEMAN)