Girly Bay Bulaong-Tingson’s love of food translated into a business when she opened a milk tea outlet in Bulacan in October 2019. She was only 24 years old then.
It was a leap of faith for the college professor. But just as she was starting Thé Hive, the pandemic struck a few months later and hampered her operations. Bulaong-Tingson was soon having financial troubles and thought of closing down.
With no customers coming to stores, the young entrepreneur decided to onboard foodpanda. With the help of the app, she has been able to reach more Bulakenyos craving milk tea and other beverages.
“I used to rely on word of mouth and on my social media channels to promote Thé Hive. Now, when I meet people, they tell me that they always order from us using foodpanda. They even know that we are part of the Super Sundays and Mega Mondays promos,” shares Bulaong-Tingson.
Thé Hive has since expanded operations to three outlets with one location in Bacoor, Cavite. Another two branches will open this November and by the end of the first quarter of 2022, Thé Hive will have another three branches that will serve cool concoctions.
The food and grocery delivery app has helped many entrepreneurs like Bulaong-Tingson survive and even grow amid an economy-crippling pandemic. But even before COVID-19 plagued the country, foodpanda has been supporting many food businesses with convenient delivery, allowing them to be prepared when the crisis struck.
Just like Dimsum Break in Cebu.
Dimsum Break’s first branch opened on February 12, 1996, with a unique setup that provides a convenient venue for people to enjoy fresh dim sum dishes for a quick bite or a full meal.
As with other businesses, the pandemic completely upended the landscape in which the brand was operating. “From relying heavily on dine-in customers as the main source of revenue, we found ourselves having to adapt to new ways of serving customers,” says marketing manager Kyra Velasco.
The food brand partnered with foodpanda as early as 2015, allowing to continue serving their customers by bringing their dim sum favorites to their doorsteps. Velasco adds, “receiving orders through foodpanda ahead of time helps keep our store operations efficient.”
The app likewise adds value to established businesses with several physical stores.
The Barefruit Group of Companies, a homegrown brand in General Santos City, was founded by Hannah Mamon to start a business that would enable her to spend more time with her family. The fruit shakes and smoothies brand focused on the exotic fresh produce available in GenSan such as langka and guyabano.
Her initial foray into a mall space shut down, but with determination and faith, she got back into business, and in the last 10 years has expanded her product line to include JM Shawarma, Kutsara PH, Pink Pot Milktea, Paluto, Bake Barn, Barefruit Guyabano, Merry Mango, and EE Takuyaki. Through franchising, she now has 300 stores nationwide.
“We started with foodpanda in 2019 and currently around 130 stores are under foodpanda nationwide,” begins Mamon. “It has helped us in terms of reaching our customers during the pandemic in the most efficient way. It even saves our stores inside the malls from closing. It also gave us opportunities to open cloud kitchens to cater to more customers, and expand and reopen closed stores.”
Brands that want to increase their customer base through a value-driven partnership with foodpanda may go to this link: bit.ly/3C0sSyS.