It all started a little over twenty years ago. Tired of the usual fastfood offerings consisting of the usual burgers, fries, siopao and siomai, a group of yuppies decided to introduce a Filipino fastfood with a twist.
Instead of using styropor packs and disposables, they offered their native delicacies in biodegradable, eco-friendly and very natural banana leaves. The innovation worked as customers loved the idea of Pinoy rice meals packed in banana leaves. Thus Binalot was born.
Binalot started as a pure food delivery concept and was branded the darling of the delivery industry by Delivery Magazine in 1998. It then moved into foodcourt kiosks in 2000 and later, due to customer demand, opened its first dine-in restaurant in 2002. Two years later, the first franchise was granted and Binalot never looked back since then.
However, the year 2006 saw the devastation of the catastrophic typhoon Milenyo and Binalot found it difficult to source its banana leaves. Without losing its spirit, the innovative young brand turned the crisis into an opportunity by setting up its own CSR program called Dahon or Dangal at Hanapbuhay Para sa Nayon.
Binalot adopted a community of banana farmers in Laguna and secured a steady and reliable source of banana leaves and in the process giving them and their family a source of livelihood.
Dahon was recognized because of its novel idea of a sustainable CSR despite being an SME at that. Recognitions include the once-in-a-lifetime UPS Centennial Award, the Intel AIM Corporate Social Responsibility Award and the BID Network CSR Award.
All throughout, Binalot has introduced innovation after innovation, such as the introduction of electric bikes for delivery and the launching of its food van for mobile activities. In 2015, Binalot ventured overseas with the opening of a Binalot outlet in Dubai, UAE to cater to the growing Filipino population there.
This year, entrepreneur Rommel Juan, the founding president of Binalot, is a finalist in this year’s Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2017.
“We are very proud that our simple efforts as a small enterprise are beginning to be recognized. Yet it is also ironic since we are only doing what we love, paying forward to those who have helped us and will continue to help us,” says Juan.
“We consider the nomination a validation of our passion and dedication towards our customers and all our stakeholders. This will only make us strive even harder in the future.”
