Investments pour into Cebu’s food sector

CEBU’S rich and growing retail market has attracted more investments in the last two quarters this year with the opening of at least four food and wine shops and cafes.

STREET CAFE

Businesswoman Trina Ang Kokseng’s cafe business venture is one of the new investments in the sector.
Kokseng opened the Treat Street Cafe at the Ayala Center Cebu.

Kokseng said she invested P500,000 for her first cafe business, which has become a trend in Cebu with many people holding meetings in cafes.

Kokseng is also the owner of Cake Couture in Banilad Town Center.

WINE SHOP

Then there’s Planet Grapes, a new wine shop at the Ayala Center Cebu.

We aim to become the “Starbucks” of wines in the country, said Romeo Sia, Planet Grapes Inc. managing director. He was referring to the wine shop’s plan to set up five more outlets in Cebu.

“This is our second outlet in the country. The other one is in Shangri-La (Mactan Island Resort and Spa), but it only sells in bottles. This is actually the first that sells wines in glass with street food because we realized that Filipinos love to drink wine with food,” he said.

For the other outlets, Sia said they’re eyeing other strategic areas like Cebu IT Park and SM mall at the South Road Properties.

Sia said they are allocating between P5 million and P10 million investment for each outlet.

DUTCH CAFE

Another new investment in the last two quarters is Duphi Cafe at the Arcada 5 in Tipolo, Mandaue City.

Dutch investor John Stout and her partner Leah Lorena Lising invested at least P2 million to set up the cafe which serves European dishes.

According to Stout, the changing lifestyle in Cebu is fueling more growth for cafe establishments especially in Metro Cebu.

“We have the intention to add more cafes soon once we are able to successfully introduce our brand to the local market. Maybe in areas that are busy and have high traffic of tourists,” Lising said.

WAFFLES

The waffles business of couple Wayne and Pia Congmon is another investment in the food sector in the last two quarters.

The Congmons opened two Waki Waffles outlets in two malls in April and August.

The Congmons, who earlier invested in two Sunburst Fried Chicken outlets, said they branched out in the waffles business because they believed that waffles have always been a part of the Filipinos.

Wayne Congmon said his Waki Waffles outlets have already done well, and that he and his wife are considering offering their Waki Waffles brand for franchising.

Expansion plans are also underway for the new business as the couple are looking to set up outlets in more malls.

Stout, Sia, the Congmons and Kokseng said they believed that Cebu’s market has already grown with majority of the population already reaching higher income level to afford higher lifestyle.

“Aside from that, Cebu is a hub and a tourist destination, so aside from the growing local market, we also get a market boost from the tourists and those who are just passing by,” Congmon said.