All things tiny and miniature capture the fancy of this first-time entrepreneur and former Guinness world record holder who has the insights to start a small business, with a big dream.
BatBurgs, coined with the hashtag “the cutest burgers in town”, is the brainchild of Bateng Arde, says long time business partner and fiancé Sarah Salido. Arde is a part of the service and culinary crew of an international cruise liner.
In 2015, the couple toyed with the concept of setting up a mini burger joint. As foodie explorers, Arde and Salido are quite adventurous, usually taking on different types of burgers.
“We love eating out, and food is something we take seriously, oftentimes reflecting, in jest, on how a particular food should be served and what could be the best way to enjoy them. We bond on anything edible, and that’s usually burgers. My fiancé had this idea of setting up a burger shop for some time, and he actually found the courage to finally make it happen,” Salido says.
Testing the market with a nominal batch of six buns, the upstart entrepreneurs called for pre-orders and from there, new orders came in, growing steadily as the brand finds its niche. With a growing consumer base, they decided to set-up a food truck, an upgrade from Arde’s home kitchen.
Bateng Burgers became one of the fave go-to burger shops in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
Traveling entrepreneur
But as a job offer from a cruise line beckoned, a dream job which Arde has been ardently praying for, the business which was operating for a year took a back seat.
While recuperating from a costly surgery that left Arde in dire straits during the pandemic and with only P2,000 in his savings account, the thought of reviving the shelved business came to mind.
On a social medium platform, Arde and Salido organized an informal poll, asking previous customers if they wanted to re-experience Bateng Burgers. That met an overwhelming consensus.
After nearly six years in hiatus, Bateng Burgers resurfaced as the rebranded BatBurgs. The new label emits a more vibrant branding attuned to younger, more agile crowd. BatBurgs has a better recall than the previous branding, Salido says.
The product, a mini burger that measures 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter, or about an inch smaller than the regular fastfood burgers, comes in four flavors: barbecue, cheese, classic and garlic.
The cute brioche buns, topped with crunchy sesame seeds, are homemade breads customized to fit the product description as no smaller-sized burger buns are available on a commercial scale.
To break the brand’s gustatory monotony, BatBurgs added mini sausage sandwiches to the lean menu which includes fries and soda pop for beverage.
Going places
By sheer providence, BatBurgs landed its first bulk order for a community pantry in Cavinti, Laguna, a month after the burger shop reopened in April 2021.
In a span of three years, the mini burger venture opened two more branches—one in General Trias, Cavite and another in Las Piñas, Metro Manila.
Salido says the burger shop has plans to beef up its menu by adding pasta dishes and a variety of rice meals, as it aims to level up to have a full restaurant menu soon.
Arde, who once was a Guinness Book holder for the longest solo drum role at 12 hours and 3 seconds, thought about offering the 12-piece party pack as a tribute to his achievement.
“It’s not random decision to offer a 12-piece party pack. For him, this is the best way to celebrate his achievement,” Salido says, adding that a 24-piece pray package is also available.
To satisfy the Filipinos’ penchant for anything “buy 1, take 1”, BatBurgs introduced a similar concept with the Ocho Burger—a twin burger of two flavors.
Sensing the growing demand for burgers, BatBurgs started offering party packages for corporate events, family gatherings and similar occasions. The biggest corporate catering they had so far was a combination of 300 BatBurgs mini burgers and 300 BatBurgs mini sausage sandwiches for a BPO company.
While the co-owners have yet to decide on new additions to the menu, both have plans to put up a fourth store in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and possibly a fifth in Quezon City.
Salido says it is their plan to put up 1 branch for every location, to avoid branches from competing with each other.
Having more branches means more time optimization for Salido, who is also working at a public relations firm. She does the daily operations for the three branches with the help from a lean yet very able crew.
Franchising the brand is not an option at the moment, she says. “We still want to enjoy building the brand by ourselves. We’re not in a hurry to expand, and we really want to be careful on how we will step into franchising,” she says.
She advises people who want to realize their entrepreneurial dreams to be risk-averse and passionate of their vision. They should learn the rudiments of the business and be flexible enough to step into the crew’s shoes, she says.
