First in that Mall but Not Anymore & that Somebody Got Even a Better Spot. What to Do?

This must be what is going through the mind of Manila Scramble. 

You see, for a while, Manila Scramble was the only Scramble outlet in Robinson Galeria and though their location is not in the crowded Foodcourt itself but rather off to the side of the former Fountain Area leading to the Central Escalators, people were lining up (and this is still the case even now) to get their hands on the Scramble craze.

Pinoy Ice Scramble at Rob Galeria Foodcourt

  Suddenly, Pinoy Ice Scramble appeared and they were able to secure a spot right at the Foodcourt just in front of Tokyo Tokyo.  People coming from the EDSA Main Entrance will see the Pinoy Ice Scramble almost before seeing any other food cart.  (Fantastic how Pinoy Ice Scramble did that!!!)

Pinoy Ice Scramble (side view)

  While Manila Scramble is still going strong, I am sure they must have lost some sales to the newcomer Pinoy Ice Scramble. 
Like it or not, Manila Scramble will have to do something about Pinoy Ice Scramble having a better location.  Am sure the Impulse buyers (or first-time scramble eaters) will see the Pinoy Ice Scramble and try it first--- They cannot see the Manila Scramble outlet unless they go further down the Foodcourt area.


With strong demand for space to locate Scramble franchises of all brands, Mall Leasing has started doubling-up the number of scramble franchises in their leasable areas.

Megamall suddenly had Icebreaker Scramble after having two other scramble outfits in the area already, Buzbox Scramble and Scramble Mania.  But this will not be so much concern as Megamall is huge and in two buildings.

But look at Ever Grand Central Supermarket where there are 3 scrambles (Pinoy Ice Scramble, Scramble Madness and other newcomer) in a small area.  In fact two of the scramble outlets are practically facing each other!!!

Before getting a Scramble outlet, discuss exclusivity or territorial protection with the Mall Leasing.  You might get a cheaper franchise (P60,000) but not a brand name scramble and then, the Mall suddenly locates an Icebreaker Scramble or Buzbox Scramble in front of yours,  Can you survive?

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Icebreaker Scramble Now in MOA (near Jeepney Terminal side of SMX)

I went to the Manila International Book Fair at the SMX and I chanced upon a new Icebreaker Scramble along the line of Food Kiosks fronting the Jeepney Terminal (side of SMX and SM Department Store).



Icebreaker Scramble kiosk is just 2 or 3 stalls away from the Zagu. I was there around 3 pm and there were people buying the P17 cup despite the rains. There was no buyer at the Zagu stand but it could only be at that time.



According to the Icebreaker crew, there is a Buzbox Scramble inside MOA. It will be interesting to see who will win as these 2 brands start meeting up in MOA and late MEgamall.

ASIA FOOD EXPO 2010: How About Swiss-made Brewed Coffee in a Capsule for Just P30 per cup? Think of the Profits You Could Make Selling a Cup at P70!!

During the Asia Food Expo 2010 or "AFEX 2010, I came across Nespresso. I thought it is Nestle but it is not. Nespresso is also from Switzerland (as the Nestle Corporate Office is also there) and they have a NEW WAY OF SELLING BREWED COFFEE:

1. They have their own proprietary Nespresso Espresso Machine

2. The coffee beans have already been ground and I think vacuum-sealed into capsules (see the green round thing beside the Expresso Machine in the pic below)



3. You place a cup under the spout, insert the capsule into the slot & press the button for 1 cup. Needles inside the machine pierces the capsule and as with an Espresso machine, high-pressure steam meets the ground coffee.

4. Taste is supposed to be better as the steam hits the coffee capsule at a much higher pressure than ordinary espresso machines.

5. I was surprised that the coffee showed a prominent CREMA (coffee froth) on top of the coffee.

6. Capsules come in different coffee strengths to suit taste.

7. Lastly, each capsule cost P30 ONLY meaning you could make a GOOD MARKUP.

8. Machines start at P60,000 plus or minus and up depending on the features (automatic, semi-auto or manual)

ASIA FOOD EXPO 2010: I Like This!! Coffee Vendo Machine for P34,000. Sell Coffee for P10 and Earn 40%!!

Towards the rear end of the World Trade Center Hall, I chanced upon this Korean booth selling a Coffee Vending Machine for only P34,000. Here are the features:

1. It can be Coin-operated (no need of bantay or salesperson) or it can be Manually-operated;

2. When you insert the coin (say, 2 pcs of P5 coin) and press the One-cup button, a disposable cup (6 or 8oz maybe) drops down the front and starts filling with 3-in-One coffee;

3. The rear of the machine looks like a water dispenser because there is a place to invert the water refilling container (just like your dispenser at home, see pic)



4. The Korean will supply both the dispenser and the coffee in pouches ala starbucks.

5. I tasted the coffee. It is not brewed but it tastes strong enough.



6. You have a choice of coffee, mocha or chocolate-flavor.

ASIA FOOD EXPO 2010: For The Do-It-Yourselfers, Where to Buy Affordable Kitchen Equipment??

During the AFEX 2010, visitors saw a plethora of foreign-branded kitchen and restaurant equipment for sale and selling at huge prices. What if the would-be small business entrepreneur cannot afford these brands and is looking around for affordable local suppliers?

Don't fret. At the Asia Food Expo 2010, I saw 2 outfits, Gomeco and Binondo Metalcraft selling affordable kitchen and restaurant equipment.
(pic courtesy of gomeco)

Other choices but did not exhibit is Almedah (they are a long-time fabricator of grillers, ovens, stoves etc to local burger franchises and you can also try going to the Quinta Market in Quiapo where there are many stores selling kitchen and restaurant equipment.


(courtesy of binondo metalcraft)

AFEX 2010: ASIA FOOD EXPO: Want to Start Your Own Mr. Softy or Snowpy Soft Serve Ice Cream? Then, You Need This.

At the huge Technolux booth is the Taylor Soft-serve Ice Cream made in the US of A. High-Quality. Maybe the Rolls Royce of Soft serve ice cream. This is the same machine used by Jollibee for all their Rocky Road sundaes. The machine is not cheap, about P265,000 (vs maybe P50,000 for the Taiwan brand) but Technolux claim a higher 40% more yield per kilo of soft serve ice cream mix!!! Do the math.

For those who cannot afford a Rolls Royce, there were also soft serve ice cream machines made in Taiwan, Korea (cost as much as Taylor, don't know why) and China, I think.



Don't decide on cost alone. You have to think about yield (or how many cones can you do with a kilo of mix, after sales service when it breaks down and it will, availability of parts etc).

AFEX 2010: ASIA FOOD EXPO: Food Ingredients from Cosmic Chemical

I came across Cosmic Chemical as they had on display freshly-baked Pork Floss Bread a la Bread Talk.

Though the size displayed was about 3/4 the size of Bread Talk, I was surprised when the exhibitor said food cost with the pork floss is only P5/pc (P3.50/pc without pork floss).

And if you must have pork floss, the cosmic guy said he knows of a baker in Davao who uses pork floss lookalike but it is much cheaper because it is made of soya!!! Imagine pork floss taste without the fat!!!!

Also, displayed where donuts in a different shape made from their food ingredient and donut maker.

And Now Comes The Do-It-Yourself Scramble for only P22,000!!

Towards one side of the World Trade Center during the Food And Drink Asia 2010 Expo, there is this booth called Mister Scramble. My first reaction is that this is just another scramble outfit.

But what caught my attention is that for a LOW P22,000, you have already a Scramble business!!! Whoa, is that true? The Salesgirl said "Yes" and the reason it is that low is because they will only provide the Booth (see pic) and train me on how to set-up my own scramble (how to prepare the scramble product) but I will have to source for my own ingredients, provide my own logistics etc.

For some on a strict budget, this might make sense. What do you think?

EATING ON A TIGHT TIGHT BUDGET: The Buy One-Take One Hamburger Stand

Many of us grew up seeing the numerous Burger Machines spread-out in gas stations and at the roadside open 24/7. This was later followed by the Minute Burger franchises (owned by the producers of Clover Chips).

But the one that I think shook the market (when there were no tremors in the hamburger stand industry) overnight in almost all places that you can think of (okay maybe not at trinoma, glorietta, megamall) but there must be hundreds sprouting like mushrooms. I am talking about Angel's Hamburger!!!

And how did they cause a tsunami, by offering Buy One, Take ONe!


(courtesy of angel hamburger)

No, just like Burger Machine, Angel's Hamburger never exhibited.

At the Food and Drink Asia 2010 expo at the WTC, I saw 2 franchises for hamburger:


(courtesy of jc fran burger)


(courtesy of galaxy burger)

Question: When is a Scramble not a Scramble? . . . . . . . . Answer: When It is a SCRAMBOI! Huh?

As part of the Scramble Bandwagon, Wynski is offering their version of the Scramble franchise called Scramboi and get this, they are offering it at only P50,000!!!


(courtesy of Scramboi Wynski Enterprises)

NOTICE ALSO THAT AT p5-p10-p15, THEY ARE OFFERING A LOWER SELLING PRICE THAN ICEBREAKER WHICH SELLS AT P7-P10-P17!!!!!

Whatever Happened to the Hong Kong Style Fried Noodle Craze???

If this year it is all about Scramble, last year was all about the HongKong Style Fried Noodles.

Remember Hong Kong Style Fried Noodles at the St Francis Square with their super-long lines of people waiting for their orders of P26 Fried Noodle topped with 2 pcs siomai and garnished with your choice of Spicy, Sweet soy sauce???

How about Taipan Fried Noodle that used to be in all the exhibits???

At the Food and Drinks Asia 2010 Expo at the World Trade Center WTC, I only saw one offering Fried noodle, see below:


(courtesy of Hongkong Fried noodle)

Scramble Wars: Its the Scramble King

I encountered Scramble King a few weeks ago also at the World Trade Center during the Wofex, I think.

At the time, all their outlets where located in North Luzon but they said they will start opening in Manila in August. You can get a franchise for as low as P75,000 which gets you a 1 to 1-1/2 sqm wide stand. They also have a regular 2x2 kiosk which is more expensive (see below)


(courtesy of Scramble King)

They had a mascot making the rounds of the Exhibit hall----


(scramble king mascot)

As with the siomai and now with the Scramble franchises, there seems to be a lot of similarities in kiosk & packaging designs between the established brand and the newcomers. BUT THERE ARE DISTINCT DIFFERENCES IN PRODUCT TASTES. Don't take my word for it. GO OUT AND SAMPLE THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SCRAMBLE.

Scramble king is the scramble outfit whose product most closely resembles the packaging of Icebreaker Scramble both in the cup appearance and the visual presentation of the product (see my previous post on scramble king for a comparison by clicking "The Scramble War Rages on" )

A Scramble Question: How Do You Maintain the Low Price Without Affecting Franchisee Profit Margins?

I was at a photo shoot with other newbie photographers and I met this guy, also Richard, and he was a Marketing Consultant and we got to talking about the Scramble phenomenon.




(Picture of Manila Scramble kiosk by foodtriptayo.com)

My concerns:

1. The Main Selling Proposition is a Cool Drink at a Really Low Price. With retail price at P7-P10-P17, how do you keep it at that level with rent and CUSA going up every year (and if the mall sees you are making a lot of money, they might even increase beyond the 10% or even ask for percentage of sales) and minimum wage in Manila is now more than P400/day?

2. If selling price goes up to P20 or P25, will that not be too close to Zagu at P30-P36 in a bigger cup size?

3. How about the traditional Gulaman drink at P10/8oz cup sold with the favorite siomai?

4. When Dunkin Donut recently raised SRP of their donuts from P10 to P12 or 20% increase, the size still remained the same (which seems to be getting smaller) but the margin to the franchisee remained the same.

5. A Scoop of Milko ice cream is P12, Mang Inasal sorbetes at P10 and when Selecta does a promo, P5/cone!!! Are these competiting products to the scramble??

6. Plastic cups used for the scramble is petroleum based and gas prices have been on the uptrend. Scramble in the provinces use recycled plastic (just by looking at the inferior quality of the cups) but you cannot use that in the malls.

7. What if another scramble outfit comes up offering lower prices and having all outlets owned by franchisee to keep his cost down, will not that cause a price-war?

8. On the subject of rent, aside from paying rent for your food cart, you might be asked by the mall to pay another rent for your STORAGE ROOM (usually in the basement parking of the mall) where you keep your freezer or coleman/ice chest and other packaging supplies)

WILL APPRECIATE IF YOU AS THE READER CAN GIVE ME YOUR OPINIONS BY CLICKING ON THE "LEAVE A COMMENT" button below the above Post title.