Grab Philippines’ Golden Grab Awardees Share Tales of Struggle and Success in Building their Business

The awardees admitted to almost quitting several times, until they learned to innovate, improve their systems, and thrive even during a pandemic.

It has been said time and time again—building a business is not easy. Especially when one gets hit with a global pandemic in the middle of growing a brand. Three of Grab’s Golden Grab awardees share their own challenges and tells us how having the right partner turned even a catastrophe, into an opportunity for triumph and growth.

Sweet Ecstacy

Dressed sharply in a black suit, with his trophy in his hand, Sweet Ecstacy’s co-founder Al Galang, is a picture of success. Who would even think, that this Golden Grab awardee once faced moments of doubt and nearly closed his business. “There are different kinds of quitting thoughts,” admits Galang. “Not making sales can lead to that, and for our first four, five, six years when we didn’t really have delivery, you’d have that more often. You’d have those feelings like it’s really hard just to get by.”

Now after 12 years in the business, the popular burger joint, has successfully expanded to 6 branches all over Metro Manila. Galang shares that offering a delivery option, became their turning point. For starters, Sweet Ecstacy (fondly called “Sweet X” by its customers) was originally in an inaccessible location, where foot traffic was a struggle. “I was happy if I could sell six to eight burgers a night. And only on Fridays and Saturdays,” admits Galang.  Things started to improve when they partnered with GrabFood in 2019. The leading food delivery app, helped them gain more exposure and reach customers who would not have known them, otherwise.

Today, delivery accounts for 50% to 70% of sales in all their six branches, and Galang claims, keeps even their slowest branch profitable. This was especially felt during the pandemic, when they were ironically able to thrive, thanks to the delivery orders. “While our competitiors were closing stores, because Grab kept giving us customers, we were able to keep our stores open,” he shares.

Aside from the increased exposure and market reach, he says GrabFood also provides them with market research, to know more about their customers, as well as assists in the crucial tasks of booking and tracking orders, as well as dispatching the riders, which is a tremendous help and cost-saving for small enterprises like theirs. “These innovations that they can specialize on, allow us to focus on what we do best, which is making food,” says Galang.

Oh Mango

Similar to Sweet Ecstacy, Premium Shake Bar Oh Mango likewise struggled with its location. Rent was cheap, but being hidden inside a building made them desperate for foot traffic. What’s worse, their business opened in February 2020, just a month before the covid lockdown.  “So, no one knew us and our foot traffic was really low, which is a killer in the food industry”, shares Oh Mango’s founder, Ryan Andrew Tan. “Then another is, the cash flow as a business is not consistent. So, all of those factors compounded. I really thought that we would just close.”

Being a fresh graduate back then, Tan figured that he could shut down the business and just start applying for a job with his batchmates.  But with the pandemic, demand for delivery started to pick up, and Tan decided to hold on a bit longer. While other businesses stopped operations during the lockdown, Oh Mango remained open and focused on deliveries.  “We didn’t close a single day,” he recalls. “That allowed us to really get our name known.”

During this critical period, he says GrabFood became their partner and source of support. “Grab really helped us because for one, it became one of our biggest shares in terms of sales.  So, without them, we wouldn’t be sustainable,” shares Tan.

Initially, they struggled with gaining more exposure in the app, since it was mostly the bigger brands that were visible. But Grab remedied the problem by introducing Grab Spotlight, which introduces new businesses like theirs, to its users.

Because of their partnership with GrabFood, Oh Mango has now grown from being an unknown brand, into a flourishing food enterprise that currently boasts of 15 branches.

Sisig Factory

This Davao-based restaurant started as a small snack house, for the boarders of proprietor Adrian Ramirez’s dormitory in 2014. But he noticed that their sisig was a constant hit, and decided to convert the snack house into a full-blown restaurant that specialized in this favorite Filipino pork dish.

Because of their well-loved recipe, Sisig Factory easily gained a steady stream of customers. “We were always full,” shares Ramirez. The warm reception along with several food awards, encouraged Ramirez, who was also an educator, to focus on the business full time. “It was good, and we were already developing a second branch,” recounts Ramirez. ”But the pandemic hit.”

Ramirez had to hold off his expansion and absorb losses from the construction of a second branch that   could not open because of the covid lockdown. “We were supposed to open in March 2020. But the pandemic struck and we spent a lot on the renovation of the new outlet,” he discloses.

Amidst the challenges, Ramirez says food delivery became their saving grace. “It (Grab) helped us a lot with the pandemic. Because we had no other option but Grab,” says Ramirez.

He shares that GrabFood supported his business in three main ways:  It helped them continue to serve their existing customers, while further expanding their reach; Made their process faster and easier, since the app handles order taking and delivery; and gave them brand exposure even during a lockdown. Because of this partnership, Sisig Factory was able to expand to three branches even during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, because of finance and inventory problems, Ramirez decided to close two of the branches and go back to one branch, while they improve their system and professionalize the business.  “The marketing was good, the food was good, and the service was excellent. It’s just that the cash flow had a problem. And then, I almost gave up,” confesses Ramirez.

Today, with the help of mentors, he is learning to improve their systems and embrace technology to better monitor and manage operations.  “One thing they (mentors) told me is that if you don’t have a system, you cannot expand. Because if you can develop the proper system, you can expand as many branches as you can. It’s the system that will work for you,” says Ramirez.

He adds, the trials make recognition such as the Golden Grab awards, even more significant to entrepreneurs like himself. He says it gives them the confidence to keep going and improving, despite the hurdles.

A Partnership in Service, Abundance, and Success

During Grab’s awarding ceremony, Ronald Roda, Grab Philippines’ Country Head shared that Grab was faced with its own challenge in 2020, when most of its Grab Car drivers lost their livelihood during the covid lockdown. This persuaded them to shift to delivery service and enabled GrabFood to expand outside Metro Manila, during a critical period. “Yes, we were crazy enough to setup new cities in the middle of covid, but it allowed us to serve families, workers, and entire communities beyond the capital,  Metro Manila. Together, we made it possible for us to bring comfort and nourishment during one of the hardest chapters in modern history,” Roda said in his speech.

While skeptics thought the delivery app would decline with the end of the pandemic, it instead transformed into a mainstream lifestyle app that has now become a habit for millions of Filipinos. “They underestimated all of us,” said Roda.

As Grab sustains its growth, it promises its merchant partners, they would not be left behind. Roda assured them of inclusive prosperity, by consistently finding ways to help improve their business- through operational excellence, platform innovations, and news ways to connect with their customers.

“We will remain relentless in finding ways to serve you better,” he committed.

Galang, Tan, and Ramirez for their part acknowledge that numerous challenges remain. However, the knowledge and experience they’ve gained over the years, combined with the right partnerships, leave them feeling more excited about the future.

* The Business Manual is a media partner of the Golden Grab Awards