HOMEGROWN Fat Daddy’s Group (FDG) launched on March 23 Hong Kong-based drink and dessert store Hui Lau Shan in addition to its growing restaurant and catering businesses while helping buttress the local agriculture industry.
This marked the company’s first venture in the food category, capitalizing on the return of the Philippine carabao mangoes to the domestic market, FDG President and CEO Freshnaida Versoza said.
Since the 1990s, Hui Lau Shan Hong Kong has been importing the tropical fruit from the country as a basic ingredient for all its offerings. It is estimated to consume weekly 1 ton of premium carabao mangoes for 10 to 15 outlets. Total volume used is over 1,000 tons annually.
“We have very good mangoes [supplied year-round] from the Philippines,” Royal Dynasty International Holding Co. Ltd. Deputy General Manager William Chen told reporters during their press briefing at their first store in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. “I can say [that the] Philippine mango tastes very good.”
Following its phenomenal success in the former British colony, Hui Lau Shan then expanded to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada, France, Australia and the United States.
“The sweet taste of our own fruit has helped propel the brand’s growth in and outside Asia,” Versoza said. “It’s about time we bring it here to the Philippines. It’s also our way of supporting the country’s agribusiness.”
Given the rise of delight and refreshment businesses nationwide, FDG sees a strong potential for its venture in the local market.
“When I tasted Hui Lau Shan in Hong Kong, especially the drinks, I said, ‘It’s a familiar taste with a twist,’” she recalled. “That’s when I knew that Filipinos will love this product.”
To differentiate itself from a glut of competitors, Verzosa wanted the restaurant to be known as “a mango and other fruit drinks place.”
“I want [it] to be positioned as an alternative to milk tea. So I’m very confident that with this kind of drink, Filipino consumers will find it very refreshing,” she noted.
Browsing the menu, customers can choose from at least 20 drinks and around 10 to 15 desserts, mostly mango-based, with a hint of other fruits.
“By next month, we’ll be introducing new drinks gradually,” she revealed, citing the millennials as the main target market for their wide array offerings of refreshment and dessert.
The company aims to tap the “health-buffs” since all the drinks are served fresh and with sweetness depending on the buyer’s preference, from zero percent to 200 percent of sugar.
To cater well to the local market, FDG makes it a point that Hui Lau Shan is competitive with other players—cost-wise.
“I believe the sweet spot when it comes to drinks is the [price range from]
P90 to P200. [Because] I want to position it as an alternative to milk tea, I have to price my products on that level. So my starting price is P95,” Versoza said.
Expecting the positive response from the local market, new branches will be launched in UP Town Center, Eastwood Mall, Promenade Mall, SM North Edsa, SM Fairview and SM Mall of Asia in the second quarter of this year.
“So the target openings for those are end of April or May,” the president and CEO revealed, while hinting that their pioneering store in SM Megamall costs around P5 million. “Very aggressively, I’m planning to open 10 to 15 stores in Metro Manila.”
She said Hui Lau Shan will widen its reach nationwide with more branches so that they can bring the taste of the world-popular Philippine carabao mangoes closer to the Filipino.
“In Cebu, we’re thinking maybe next year,” Versoza said, adding that they are keen on expanding also in Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Davao and Bacolod. “One of the visions we want is to create it as a lifestyle brand in the Philippines.”
FDG is behind the popular branches of Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse at the UP Town Center. It is also the brainchild of a new generation of management running the family-owned firm Josiah’s Catering.