Donut Franchises In The Philippines
A first time visitor in the Philippines may notice that donut outlets are virtually ubiquitous and well-entrenched that, in major cities, donut stations can be found every few blocks away from each other. While often considered a niche food product, donuts can be a profitable business in the Philippines because Filipinos love sweets and they are inclined to experiment with the different flavors of food items offered to them. Before, two specialty donut companies, the multinational brands Mister Donut and Dunkin' Donuts were dominating the market. Because of their phenomenal success, more market players came to see the huge income opportunity and the vast available (and still untapped) market both from the Metro Manila area and the provinces.
At present, there are quite a handful of donuts brands that are making names in the specialty food business. Let's take a look at some of the fast-growing brands. Go Nuts Donuts…Insanely Delicious… Hailed as one of the best newcomers in the Philippine food scene, the homegrown brand Go Nuts Donuts generated much media attention when it opened for business on December 11, 2003 with its first flagship theatre store at the Bonifacio Global City in Manila. The company boasts that theirs is a "new generation donut", a lighter, softer (with a distinct "melt-in-your-mouth") quality that is supposedly superior to the competition. The donuts also enjoyed a considerable advantage in terms of shelf-life as it was specially designed to stay fresh for 3 to 4 days more than the average donuts. This made it an ideal Pasalubong or take-home treat for loved ones. In just over 3 years, the Go Nuts Donuts has successfully established a network of over 30 stores in the Philippines. In 2006, it began its international expansion with the opening of the first outlet in Kuwait. There are currently four Go Nuts Donuts stores in Kuwait. Franchising Go Nuts Donuts locally requires an investment cost ranging from 2 million to 4 million pesos per store. The amount will cover the franchise fee, retail/store equipment and leasehold improvements. Franchise agreement is good for five years. Royalty fees will be collected based on the store's sales. It is also offering franchise opportunities abroad. Total investment costs range from $500,000 US to $800,000 US which includes the country rights fee, setting-up of the first fully-functional theater store production and retail equipment, initial shipment of raw materials. Variable costs will include the monthly payment of royalty or management fees. The length of franchise agreement is 10 years with an option to renew. All prospective franchisees are required to personally participate (or send full-time senior managers) to the comprehensive training at the Go Nuts School of Donuts in Manila which lasts for a minimum of 3 months. Hoops Donuts - Always Fresh, Good to Share Another local donut brand that has successfully rode on the donuts success bandwagon is the Hoops Donuts. It takes pride in its hand-rolled and had-cut donuts that come in 19 varieties which includes exotic flavors like wasabi and lemon. Hoops Donuts guarantees its donuts and dips are freshly cooked, with a not-so-sweet and velvety-to-the-mouth unique mouthwatering taste. Their dough recipe uses only the best natural ingredients, fresh fruits and pure dips. The first Hoops outlet was opened at the Casa Susana Building in Ayala-Alabang on May 2005. Five more branches were opened in various shopping malls in the succeeding year. Cello's Doughnuts and Dips This promising venture is named after its owner, a young and innovative entrepreneur named Cello Santos. Cello's Doughnuts & Dips sells unique and clever products like the pillows, a soft, tiny, square-shaped bread; C's, C-shaped doughnuts which comes in different flavors (i.e. chocnut, Oreo, chocolate, M & M's, caramel, peanut butter, cheese) and with a variety of dips to choose from (i.e. caramel, dark chocolate, Nutella, Toblerone, white chocolate-strawberry). Cello's Donuts also offers a variety of pastries like bagel, muffins, and cakes and refreshments such as coffee, cappuccino, iced tea, and Milo. The owners did their initial market research by asking friends their preferences and suggestions. The inspiration for doughnut dips came from KFC Funshots, Cello's Doughnuts and Dips opened its first store on July 2004 along Katipunan Road in Quezon City. Less than a year after, on June 2005, its second outlet opened along Taft Avenue in Manila and on October 2006, another branch in Greenhills, San Juan was established. The Philippine donut industry is reportedly raking in around Php 4.5 billion every year with the multinational brands getting hold of the biggest share of income. But the inherent sweet tooth of the Filipino assures huge opportunity for local brands to carve a niche in this huge market. |