HER passion for baking and determination to give Filipinos an option for a healthy lifestyle pushed businesswoman Caroline Tanchay to open the New York-based gourmet grocer and food hall Dean & DeLuca in the Philippines.
It was a dream come true for Tanchay to develop and build the brand in the local market, that, after four years in operation, Tanchay is determined to place Dean & DeLuca in the healthy lifestyle market as many Filipinos are gradually adopting the healthy lifestyle.
“Dean & DeLuca is mindful in what it puts in the ingredients so that our customers will be more aware of pursuing a healthy lifestyle,” she told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview held at the Dean & DeLuca outlet at the Bonifacio Global City.
“We went as far as planting our organic vegetables to ensure everything that we use is healthy. Having our own farm, we do a lot of fermenting food to ensure that every food we serve are enriched with prebiotic elements,” Tanchay added.
In expounding that it is the real deal, Dean & DeLuca is using natural ingredients, such as pure milk, pure butter and freshly milled flour. For individuals who are sensitive to gluten, it serves pizza, which has fermented sour dough. “We will come up with our coconut milk so that we can serve the lactose intolerant people,” Tanchay said.
To broaden its market base, Tanchay said they are also serving muscovado, stevia and raw sugar in their dessert menus to enable people with blood sugar issues to enjoy their dessert.
She added the stevia that they use is quite different from the other brands because the Mexican variety has no bitterness.
She admitted she had to hurdle several challenges in building the brand in the local market. Nevertheless, Tanchay remains unfazed by the difficulties facing the business. In fact, this petite lady is a giant in the male-dominated mining industry, as the chief executive and president of a publicly listed mining company, and president of its subsidiaries dealing with hydro power plants, renewable energy and aggregates, among others.
Tanchay recalled that she and her team conducted a yearlong research and development before opening its first branch in Rockwell’s Edades Tower in Makati to learn the rigid processes and apply them in their operations toward building it as the leading croissant in town.
Tanchay is a licensee, not a franchise holder of Dean & DeLuca, so she has more flexibility in managing the business. As a licensee, Tanchay can introduce her own menu and bakery products that suit the local market, with the guidance and approval of the New York head office.
Furthermore, Tanchay has been given the green light to feature the cuisine of other Dean & DeLuca markets, like, say, fusion sushi, which is the trend these days.
Leaving no stone unturned, Tanchay recruited a former pastry chef from the famous Bouchon Bakery, New York and another baker who worked at the three-Michelin-starred Jean-Georges to train her bakers to become world class.
Moreover, Tanchay tweaked the local setup of Dean & DeLuca by building a coffee shop setup that will allow Filipinos to eat and bond. For instance, the 100-seat café at the Rockwell branch attracts a big number of people such as families and friends, to enjoy the pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and meals, fresh-baked breads and pastries in the menu. Such a set up is quite different from a store in New York where people buy and eat their orders outside.
“We also import all the ingredients of our products. If I want to produce cheaper products, I would buy the quick shortening material. But we don’t want to do that because it is unfair to our clients,” she said.
“Our pastries have high-quality standards. The customers feel they are eating something natural, pure and healthy. They know it’s genuine because it will reflect on the taste,” she said.
Tanchay said Dean & DeLuca plans to open branches in Quezon City and Greenhills this year.