The Figaro Coffee branch at Horizons 101
THESE days, people don’t just go to cafes or restaurants for the food or drinks alone.
The place has to be cozy, bright, and has special corners for photos in order to attract the millennials and Gen Zs who are the growing markets for businesses.
If a place is “instagrammable,” posts from guests will immediately go viral on social media, drawing more visitors.
And this is exactly what Figaro Coffee is trying to do as they open their newest branch in Cebu at the ground floor of the Horizons 101 building along Gen. Maxilom Avenue.
“We wanted to model the store like this to capture the younger market and to emphasize that Figaro is changing. It’s much brighter. We also wanted to go with the trend. The place is instagrammable,” said Darwin Santiago, franchise manager of Figaro.
The newest Figaro Coffee branch is already the 74th branch all over the country. But it is still the third branch, and the first in Cebu, to have this kind of new look.
Michael Barret, deputy chief operating officer, said that Figaro’s revitalized look was meant to make it more welcoming and less intimidating, for the younger ones.
For the past 25 years, Figaro has been targeting the businessmen market and they have been successful in doing so. But now, the rising and high-spending young market is becoming more important to tap.
“We also want to focus on the young and the students, not just the businessmen. We want them not to be intimidated by the look of the cafe. We want to communicate to them that we are not priced like fine dining,” he said.
The new branch features varied and colorful furniture, far from the usual branches which have uniformed tables and chairs.
The seats have different designs, there are high chairs and table, and there is also a small function room.
Walls are filled with paintings and photographs, as well.
But despite the changes, Figaro Coffee Deputy Chief Executive Officer Divina Gracia Cabreira said they still have the same, old, good coffee.
Figaro source majority of their coffee beans from local farmers in areas like Benguet, Cavite, Tagaytay and Mindanao, while 30 percent are sourced from abroad like Vietnam and Brazil.
While their coffee remains, Cabreira said they always innovate their food choices to include more options for the ever-changing wants of the market.
“As the market evolves, we need to adapt to their wants and needs,” she said.
