Filipino fast food chain Binalot has never been shy in introducing new and innovative concepts in the food industry. And this time, amid this pandemic that saw the dramatic increase in food delivery, welcome “cloud franchises”.
From being the first truly Filipino fast food franchise when it started in 1996 to becoming the poster child for SME CSR when it set up its DAHON program in 2006, Binalot has always had the pioneering spirit.
Judee Morente, Operations Manager of Binalot says that since the start of this pandemic, Binalot has never stopped its operations. “We focused on how to keep our employees busy and more importantly, keep them employed. Binalot came up with the Bayani (Biyaya at Yaman Alay Natin sa Inang Bayan) program which enabled good-hearted individuals to donate food for both our medical and non-medical frontliners”.
“Truly, this pandemic has affected the food industry worldwide. And Binalot was not spared. Sales decreased to less than half as people stayed home, they stayed away from the malls and office spaces and factories became vacant. Thus, most of our current sales are in the form of delivery sales”.
But the pandemic stretched on, with a second round of enhanced community quarantine in place in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. And with almost no end in sight, Binalot has decided to pivot to a new business model.
Introducing the Binalot home kitchen-based franchise or Binalot Cloud Kitchen for short. Morente explains that now, you no longer need to find a space in a commercial area to open your own Binalot franchise. “With our cloud franchise, you can simply open one at your own home. All we require you to have is your kitchen and a dedicated refrigerator and freezer for the Binalot stocks. Binalot will train you and your staff on operations, food handling, marketing, human resources and will even set up your delivery system. Food service is going to be fast, convenient and affordable because of reduced overhead costs”.
Binalot CEO Rommel Juan says that with more people working from home nowadays, residential area food deliveries are up. “We and our prospective franchisees aim to target this new, rapidly-growing segment by focusing on residential area cloud franchises. And with our Binalot Cloud Kitchen, you can do it from the comfort of your home kitchen”.
“At Binalot, we try to see the opportunity in every crisis. Problems are seen as challenges that need to be addressed. There is a need and we provide an opportunity to fill this need. So now we want to give this opportunity to offer Binalot to cloud franchisees to serve their own residential areas and have a profitable business for themselves”.
For inquiries you may email ilovebinalot@gmail.com. Or visit www.binalot.com
