Breaking into the Food Business: How VR Del Rosario and Viva Food are Transforming the Philippine Dining Scene

In 10 years Viva Food has expanded aggressively, launching 9 brands, setting up 150 branches, and becoming a major player in the local restaurant industry.

When the name “Viva” comes to mind, one immediately thinks of its dominance in Philippine entertainment—movies, music, and talent management. Yet, under the vision of Vicente Raphael “VR” Del Rosario IV, the group is making waves beyond showbiz, strategically expanding into the food and beverage industry.

With Viva International Food and Restaurants (VIFR), VR Del Rosario, son of media tycoon Vic Del Rosario Junior, is proving that innovation and diversification are the keys to sustainable growth.

Breaking New Ground

Like most Filipino families, the Del Rosarios enjoy dining out and trying new dishes, especially during their overseas travels. With this fondness for food, it was inevitable that their patriarch’s entrepreneurial spirit, would eventually lead them to the food business.

For many years, VR’s father “Boss Vic” Del Rosario Jr., had tried different food businesses, such as franchises of Shakey’s, Good-Ah, and Mang Inasal, as well as creating his own food concept—an entertainment and food hub called Circus Circus. But since he was focused on his media company, the food business was always just a sideline that would eventually fold up, each time.

But with his children already grown up and helping in the company, Boss Vic revisited the idea in 2013, when he discovered the original mille crepe of Tokyo-based Paper Moon Café.  Owned by Mrs. Emi Wada the wife of his business associate, he saw the café’s potential and convinced her to come out from retirement to establish a branch in Manila, with him as a franchisee.

After two years of training and preparation, Paper Moon, which already had stores in Tokyo and New York, opened its first branch in Manila. The foray encouraged Boss Vic to set up Viva International Food and Restaurants (VIFR), marking the start of parent company, Viva Communications’ diversification into the food business.

Known for his decisive and aggressive nature, Del Rosario immediately acquired other international franchises and brought in Wing Zone from the USA, Botejyu from Osaka, Japan, as well as homegrown Cuban sandwich place, Pepi Cubano.

With Viva Foods’ swift expansion, VR Del Rosario, who was then in charge of the company’s concerts and events, decided to move to Viva Foods and head its operations in 2017.

“I was given a choice between music and food,” he recalls. “But music is already my dad’s legacy. I wanted to build this start-up with him and the family, which is new to us. It’s totally out of our DNA, and I wanted that challenge”.

Since then, Viva Foods has grown to 9 brands with a combined branch network of over 150 branches nationwide and an employee base of over 2,000. Their current roster consists of:

• Papermoon (Japan)
• Botejyu (Japan)
• WingZone (U.S.)
• Yogorino (Italy)
• Pepi Cubano (Ph)
• Greyhound Cafe (Thailand)
• Du Hsiao Yueh (Taiwan)
• Maple Tree House (Korea)
• Viva Café (Ph)

This year three more brands will be added: An Italian restaurant called Rosso Pomodoro, which will launch on February 13, Thai coffee shop Bean Hound by the second quarter of this year, and American pretzel shop, Wetzel.  This will bring Viva Foods’ total count to 15 food brands.

With this diverse assortment and vast branch network, Viva Foods has positioned itself as a multi-concept player, which captures different segments of the Philippine dining market.

A Cunning Strategy

When restaurants shut down due to the pandemic in 2020, Viva Foods turned it into a golden opportunity.  Instead of pulling back like everyone else, VR took the opportunity to acquire prime locations given up by other restaurants. This allowed their crown jewel, Japanese restaurant Botejyu, to further expand its market, and rapidly grow to 50 branches by 2022. “It helped the business to be more visible. Simultaneously, we had time to review systems and branches that were not doing well,” he explains. Today, 88 of the company’s 150 branches are Botejyu outlets.  

The Differentiator

VR believes what sets their brands apart is their effort to keep things as pure and authentic as possible. Chefs from their restaurants’ countries of origin visit regularly, to teach their recipes to the local staff. Where applicable, ingredients are also imported to ensure that the dishes taste authentic.  VR hopes that this dedication to quality and attention to detail, enable them to stay ahead of the competition in the cut throat food industry. “It’s a very tough market. There’s a lot of players and how to be top of mind is the challenge,” he admits.

Just like his father, he also believes that one should be aggressive in growing the business and taking risks. “You can’t just wait it out and see how it goes,” advises VR. “You have to forge ahead and see what is lacking (in the market).”

Which is why Viva Foods is moving full steam ahead in setting up more food concepts in the coming years. But they’re not content in dominating the local market alone, and have now set their sight on regional expansion.  Case in point, the international franchisor of its crown jewel Botejyu, has already granted them global rights to set up branches in other countries. “Our intention is to not just grow the business in the country, but to grow outside the country as well, and bring these brands to other markets,” he shares.

Torch Bearers

As the second generation, VR sees succession as the biggest challenge for him and his three other siblings.

 Currently, all four of them are leading various companies under Viva Communications Inc., and his three nephews (sons of oldest brother Vincent), have already started working for the company.  

“We were fortunate that the stones have already been set in place, it is just up to us to ensure that it is molded properly,” says VR. 

This is why the family has consistently prioritized close collaboration across all fields and endeavors, recognizing that unity and synergy are essential in securing the conglomerate’s continuity for future generations.

As part of this collective effort, Viva Foods has made its presence unmistakable, evolving from a mere side venture into a key player in the Viva Group’s overall strategy.