MBAH 10B: Food Trip Report - Deo M. Danguilan

March 23, 2013

Deogracias Victor M. Danguilan

MBAH 10B

Entrepreneurship

Food Trip Paper

Banana Leaf Curry

The business concept of Banana Leaf Curry is to provide a flavorful fusion of oriental cuisine which leans more toward letting people experience and enjoy Singaporean dishes at relatively reasonable prices in a uniquely oriental ambiance. The food service business targets people who work, live, play, or those who spend time in or near Rockwell Power Plant Mall. These people are most likely to be within the AB social class bracket and who are exposed and enjoy international cuisines and who are somewhere in the age bracket of 30-60. Their setup allows them to accommodate bigger groups of people which attracts families, groups of co-workers, etc. It is observed that they have strategically created a system that delivers food fast so that it promotes high turnover of customers resulting to higher utilization of their leased space. The business also earns more through cross-selling techniques. They primarily bank on the strength of their brand, the pull of traffic of the mall, and the captive market coming from within the Rockwell compound such as the office workers, residents, and mall-goers. They create awareness and attract people mainly through on site promotion strategies and through locating their branches in malls that strategically focuses on the AB, 20-60, working professionals and families crowd. Banana leaf curry takes advantage of their presence in metro manila and will likely enjoy and reap the benefits of economies of scale and standardization of inventory, services, and other resources.  

One of the relevant innovations that have been observed was their use of banana leaves in place of the usual ceramic plates. This allows them to reduce manpower costs and saves them a lot of time and resources supposedly needed in dishwashing activities. Not only does it let them save on time and effort but it also reduces costs brought about by storing and maintaining plates and sunk costs caused mainly by breakages. 

Sugar house

The primary concept of Sugar House is that it offers delectable sweets and hot and cold beverages that are perfect for after meals or even for a mid-afternoon snack in a casual and easy environment. Similar to Banana Leaf Curry, it targets people who work, live, and play in or near Rockwell Power Plant Mall. It was seen that the customers who were there during the period of observation were mostly within the upper limit of the age bracket - around the 40-70 range. It seems, according to personal observations, that the concept of Sugar House was not at all unique. I believe, however, that they differentiate themselves through the quality of the products that they offer, although not necessarily unique products. Compared to Banana Leaf Curry, their onsite promotions, is more on the passive side. Their pricing strategy reflects to target the middle market and they would likely be generating income from cross-selling activities also. I also noticed that one of their significant channels for generating more revenues was the take out sales.  More importantly, it has been observed that they have the capacity to push down their costs through requiring less manpower since majority of the products most likely come straight from central commissary and that only finishing touches and other minor preparations are done onsite. This strategy that they employ also allows them to serve their clients faster and lets the business use manpower resources more efficiently. Having a central commissary may also allow them to expand and scale up businesses easily as compared to full-fledged restaurants + cafes.       

Draft

Draft uniquely offers international beers, cocktails, and visually and gastronomically appealing food in a classy ambiance convenient for casual conversations. This differentiates them from many bars within Rockwell and even in Metro Manila. They, I believe, want to create a 'third place' (similar to the Starbucks Concept) that provides a classy and comfortable place for after-work drinks and easy conversations before finally retreating home. This unique offering puts them in an advantageous position wherein they can eliminate the risk for a cost-price squeeze and create a bigger margin than competitors. This does not mean, however, that they have access to low-cost supplies. In terms of manpower requirements, their operations should need less of it since their focus is on selling beers, cocktails, and cold cuts which are relatively fast and easy to prepare. I believe that they still have to build and develop the strength of their brand in terms of recall, preference, and loyalty. It can be seen that they cater to the upper class of the market segment which is primarily the AB, after-office crowd. These people are mostly working professionals which include local business executives as well as expatriates.  

MBAH 10B Food trip by Dr Apple

Submitted by: Bandong, Maria Conchitina T.

MBAH-10B

Date Submitted: March 23, 2013

FOOD TRIP

The class went to three restaurants in Powerplant Mall in Makati as part of our food trip in Entrepreneur class. These were Banana Leaf for lunch, Sugar house for dessert, and Draft for coffee and cocktails.

1. BANANA LEAF

It is an all Asian concept restaurant; the ambiance, food and even the food servers were wearing Asian outfits. We partook of thai soup, padthai, crispy tilapia, curry chicken, and sizzling beef. The food was delicious, the food servers were attentive.

The innovations I noted were the following:

-       banana leaves were used as plates which implies that you can eat with your bare hands and this reminded us that we are in the Philippines

-       ambiance encourages group or family dining. The atmosphere was informal which connotes eating time as a happy time

-       interiors (ceiling, chairs, tables, wall ornaments) were all Asian and made us feel we were in another Asian country

Basing on the number of people eating, the people in queue, and the number of 8 branches, I consider the restaurant as a success.

2. SUGAR HOUSE

It is a coffee and dessert place. It offered a variety/choices of different cakes, pastries, and even coffee. It also offers main entrees/hearty meals for lunch, merienda, and dinner. We had apple pie and chocolate cake which satisfied our sweet craving.

I did not notice any significant innovations except for sugar free cakes being offered although this is now available in most of the eating establishments. However, the offer catering services and food delivery service during business hours.

Based on its business concept which is to offer premium cakes, I feel that it was successful in that aspect. The number of current branches which is twelve in Metro Manila only is reflective of its success.

3. DRAFT

This is currently a new gastropub of European casual dining concept. It offers the best drink on tap and variety of scrumptious and highly palatable food.

The innovations that I noted were the following:

-       wide variety of draft beer from Europe

-       ambiance

-       presence of smoking area makes no horrific traces of cigarette smoke inside

-       the tables were massive which can accommodate large amount of food and drinks

I think that based on the number of people dining & drinking inside and outside even during lunch time, I consider it a success. 

MBAH 10 Food Trip Report by Yen

Dear Prof Jorge

I received this message po, so I am removing the pictures po and resending the message in plain text po

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

    jorge.saguinsin.sentrep@blogger.com

Technical details of permanent failure: 
You have exceeded the the allowable number of posts without solving a captcha.

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

    profjorge.entrep.ateneo@blogger.com

Technical details of permanent failure:
You have exceeded the file size limit per mail or mobile post.

yen

On March 9, the class went on a learning trip at 3 different food establishments at Rockwell Power Plant Mall in Makati. As we enjoy each others' company, we started to understand the heart of each business and know their unique selling proposition. Here are some of my observations and key learning:

I.                    Banana Leaf  - The place where we had a feast after a morning session loaded with lots of learning from our classmates as they presented their individual reports on topics related to entrepreneurship.

·         Business Concept: They offer a wide range of Southeast Asian cuisine particularly Singaporean, Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Indonesian and Vietnamese dishes. The staff wore Asian costumes and the set up of the dining area infuses an Asian culture. Their place is suggestive of group dining either as a family, business associates or group of friends who may want to take an hour or so to eat and chat.

·         Location: Basement, Food court area

·         Service Delivery: The management was able to deliver the food fast, starting with the appetizer in 5 minutes followed by the main course.  The dishes are served hot and there is an assigned crew to take care of customers in clustered areas. This would allow them keep up with the number of customers coming in as groups who tend to stay long. They also provide delivery and catering services.

·         Price: Generally, the price is not too expensive but not too affordable for a rank and file Pinoy. A regular employee who would want to try this restaurant must definitely need to save up before going to this place.

·         Marketing: They have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach. They also have discount coupons in partnership with some malls where they are located particularly, Ayala Malls.

·         Business Model: Franchise – Banana Leaf is open to franchising.

·         Innovation: They made use of banana leaves like what Asian countries do as plates. This completes the Asian look and at the same time saves them time from cleaning plates after diner finishes their course.

II.                  Sugarhouse – After taking a nice sumptuous meal, we went here for a dessert and had the chance to taste their Apple and Chocolate Bliss cakes.

·         Business Concept: Best spot for customers with a sweet tooth. But not for kids, the ambiance is set for an adult population who wants to have an afternoon chat over coffee or tea with a matching sweet pastry. They also offer other cold drinks like shake, juice and soft drinks. They also offer catering services since they also offer other meals like pasta, salad, etc.

·         Location: Basement, Food court area

·         Service Delivery: The crew was very accommodating with our requests when we both two cakes and asked for the cakes to be sliced based on our numbers and even prepared plates and water for all of us.

·         Price: Not for the lowly Juan. This place is intended for the A & B market.

·         Marketing: They started by word-of-mouth then eventually they now have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach. They also have discount schemes like Birthday Blowout.

·         Business Model: Chain Stores – They have 13 branches including 4 kiosks.

·         Innovations: None observed except having an ambiance of an English tea house.

III.                The Draft Sports Bar & Grill – The class initially wanted to go to a coffee shop since we had sweets but to no avail, we ended up moving to The Draft which offers coffee and of course, alcohol, just in time to relax our minds and end our food trip. I had the chance to drink Mojito, a rum cocktail drink. It was quite a different experience because we had 4 classmates present their report inside the bar.

·         Business Concept: Basically it is a sports bar and grill popular in Concord that offers a wide range of high-class beer. But they are not limited with drinks, but they offer also a selection of meals where people who wanted to have lunch or dinner as a couple or as a group of friends and even as a family.

·         Location: 3^rd Floor (Has entrance from outside and linked to the mall area)

·         Service Delivery: The dishes came out fast and hot. Since alcoholic beverages are their forte, it was served right on dot and met the requirements of an alcohol drinker. As for the coffee, two of our classmates had to return their cups of coffee because it was not hot at the time it was delivered.

·         Price: Not for the lowly Juan. This place is intended for the A & B market particularly, business executives and foreigners.

·         Marketing: They have a website and uses social media like Facebook and Twitter to extend their marketing reach.

·         Business Model: Franchise – This concept was brought to the Philippines from Europe.

·         Innovations: Full of widescreens to watch their favourite game and a huge bar counter.

It was a fun-filled learning trip, full of surprises and had the best time with my classmates while enjoying meals at different places.

MBAH 10Food Trip report - Danae Madel Orig

Food Trip

Submitted by: Danae Madel Orig

Last March 9, 2012 our class finally pushed through with the planned Food trip. It was one of the requirements for the Entrepreneurship course. Due to heavy traffic and hot weather, the class decided to conduct the food trip at the Power plant Mall in Rockwell. We visited three restaurants, our lunch was held at Banana Leaf Restaurant, then we had dessert at Sugar house and lastly coffee and beer at Draft.

Banana Leaf

Banana Leaf is a multi-awarded international restaurant that introduced Filipino diners to the delights of modern Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese and Indonesian cuisine. This restaurant as also awarded as one of 2012's Best Philippine Restaurants.

Most of the customers in Banana Leaf are the residents from surrounding condominiums and mall goers. We saw families, expats and couples having their Lunch. The place was spacious and can accommodate big groups. They have extensive choices of good quality South East Asian cuisine which tasted very authentic. Although we didn't have reservation and we didn't pre-order, I was surprised that the food was served really fast and we didn't have to wait long for them. The servers were also dressed in a traditional Malaysian outfit which really adds up to the South East Asian experience.

One of the good innovations that I've noticed is how they made use of banana leaves as plates which sets them apart from all the other restaurants in the mall. By doing this, I assumed that they only needed minimal man power for dishwashing. This also gives them opportunity to provide additional livelihood to banana growers.

Sugar House

Sugar house is a pastry shop that is located in same floor as banana leaf. They serve cakes, sandwiches, light meals and other types of pastries. It's a small space with several tables and compared to Banana Leaf their space felt a little cramped. Here we had our dessert of banana pie and chocolate truffle cake. Since they are in within the same are, they served the same market.

What I liked about them was that again, they were able to accommodate our big group even without reservation and when I asked if they can divide the cake to 10 or 12 slices (more than their usual serving) they willingly obliged.

What's different thing about them is that they have cake choices which are normally not available on other pastry shops. Examples are their Almond Sansrival, Chocolate truffle and French Apple Pie topped with whipped cream.

Again, the service was fast and efficient, the pricing reasonable and the food quality is good. They also serve freshly brewed coffee at a much affordable price compared to other restaurants in the vicinity.

Draft Gastro Pub

This European gastro pub is one of the new restaurants in Power plant Mall. They serve some of the best international beers on tap. They also have a food menu that has has some of the European pub staples such as fish and chips, german sausages, mussel pots and schnitzel.

Its high ceiling and wall glass panels give this restaurant an airy, open ambiance. Same as the other 2 restaurants, they serve the A and B market and because of their huge space which can accommodate serve big groups easily. There is also flat screen TVs that continuously shows the TV ads of the beers.  Doing this makes their customers more curious to try their different beer offerings.

What sets them apart is their product offering which are the imported beers that can be served on tap (draft) or bottle. This allows then to reach their target markets which are the A and B class and the expats. <exercise on business concept, differentiation, business model -->prep for bp making

MBAH Food Trip Report by Dr. Tim

 FOOD TRIP REPORT

By: Dr. Melquecedes T. De Guzman , Jr.

MBAH-10B

            Last March 2, 2013, our Entrep Class went to Powerplant for our food trip activity. We had three stops, Banana Leaf, Sugar House and Draft.

BANANA LEAF:

           

Business Concept: Restaurant specializing in Asian dishes (Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.)

Primary Target Market: Asian-food lovers, professionals, residents of Rockwell.

            Place: It was located art the basement level of the mall, along with other restaurants.

The place was cozy, lighting was alright, not too dim, not too bright. Walls were decorated with Asian inspired paintings. Seats and tables were ok, although the spacing between tables was a bit crowded. There were mat-sized banana leaf portions as plates to further enhance the Asian environment. High foot traffic.

Product: Food was great! We ordered soup (with noodles, clams, coconut milk and pepper), pad thai noodles, chicken, beef.

Price: Prices were reasonable, affordable for their primary target market.

SUGAR HOUSE:

 

Business Concept: Restaurant specializing in cakes and pastries, but also serves pasta, sandwiches, salads and entrée’s. But since we just ate at Banana leaf, we just had cakes.

Primary Target Market: Cake lovers, professionals, residents of Rockwell.

Place: It was located at the basement level of the mall, along with other restaurants, just a few steps from banana leaf. The place was cozy, lighting was bright. High foot traffic.

Product: Cakes were ok. We had midnight chocolate cake and French apple pies (tagged as the best apple pie in town). I liked the choco cake more than the apple pie though.

Price: In my opinion, prices were a bit on the high side, although still fairly affordable for their target market.

DRAFT:

 

Business Concept: A “gastropub” serving European food and beer. casual dining concept.

Primary Target Market: Rockwell residents, young professionals

Place: 2^nd floor of Power plant mall, readily accessible. Large tables, adequate smoking area, euro-ish ambience.

Product: Advertises itself as offering the best drink on tap with a wide variety of imported European draft beer. I really cannot comment because I'm a non-beer drinker.

Price: Reasonble enough for their PTM. 

<scholarly and succinct observations>