Some say that when life gives you lemon, make a lemonade. But in the case of Angel Luck Pedro, a stewardess in one of major international airlines, she did not concoct any drink nor fly to a distant land. Instead, she went home to San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, where she bought an old and ready to be phased out jeepney.
SANDWICH
Angel was just one of the many stewardesses who lost their jobs during the pandemic as airplanes were literally grounded for almost two years.
Without a job, but with enough money to start a backyard business, Angel tried her hands at entrepreneurship.
She first scanned her hometown for potential opportunities. She found out that nobody from among the entrepreneurs in her progressive town was serving sandwiches.
Without any business experience, Angel collaborated with her physically-challenged brother, but who loves cooking. Inspired by the Korean craze egg drop sandwich, they came up with their own egg sandwich recipes.
“It was try and error at first, but my brother has a passion for cooking,” said Angel. They were able to come up with egg drop sandwich variants.
She was also taking advantage of the abundant supplies in their community for their sandwich from eggs to packaging, all are locally sourced.
To avoid overhead cost, she first put up a food stall in their garage. Focusing on just one product also ensures efficiency in their operation. EGGLUCK is also a family affair with Angel’s siblings helping in operating the startup business.
JEEPNEY
From the food stall, Angel and company converted their garage into a small diner for their customers as sales ramp up with only three people running the store.
They were surprise they could sell 250 sandwiches in one day at a base price of P69. They also participate in local events and school fairs.
Sales have been brisk that they decided to make their operation even more flexible when someone suggested they buy an old and ready to be phased out jeepney to sell their sandwiches. It was an opportunity because jeepneys were idled during the pandemic and ready to be phased out.
So from the food stall’s earnings, they bought an old 10-seater passenger jeepney and converted it into a customized food truck.
Having a food jeepney makes them mobile. The EGGLUCK jeepney has brought them to different towns in Ilocos Norte, especially during special town events and market days. They would just collaborate with local partners like gasoline station where they can park and sell for at least four hours with all four people, including the driver, running the operation inside the food jeepney.
LGU SUPPORT
But Angel noted that one important factor that really encouraged startups in Ilocos is the support of their local governments.
In fact, their LGUs do not require startups to pay taxes initially and allow them join fairs in different municipalities. They are just considered peddlers where they only pay tickets to the municipality to be able to park and sell in an area where they cannot obstruct traffic.
Now, EGGLUCK is already registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and issues its own receipt. But Angel said there is really a need to pass a law governing food trucks or rolling stores because this kind of business is thriving as they proliferated during the pandemic.
NEXTGEN AWARDS
A year after its operation, EGGLUCK competed in the NextGen in Franchising competition. The search chooses 4 area winners representing Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and National Capital Region.
EGGLUCK brought home the top prize as national winner. EGGLUCK also has the distinction as the first regional winner for the Luzon area to become the Grand Winner in this annual competition organized by the Philippine Franchise Association.
Other winners include Isla Kapsule, the NCR Area Winner represented by the Owner and Founder, Cherry Lim. Isla Kapsule is a 100 percent Filipino Espresso and Capsule Bar. All coffee is sourced through local farmers in the Philippines.
Foxcity Ph, the Visayas Area Winner was represented by the CEO, Clark Danielle Layese. Foxcity Ph is local e-commerce platform that supports the digitalization of MSME’s by connecting local businesses and buyers for a seamless user experience, easy exchange & rapid economic growth.
Studentship Philippines, the Mindanao Area Winner was represented by the President, Kristoni Go. Studentship Philippines is a startup that offers next generation afterschool program, a technology-enabled, mobile-based and gamified afterschool experience that is easily deployable and thus accessible in any community in the Philippines.
The 4 area winners showcased their winning concepts at the Franchise Asia Philippines Expo 2022 on October 14 to 16 at the SMX Convention Center. They were part of the more than 500 brands joining the said event, which is considered Asia’s biggest franchise show.
The winners and the Top 20 Finalists are privileged to be included in a series of curated training and coaching by the most trusted companies in the NxtGen Accelerator Program.
FRANCHISE
EGGLUCK already embraced the franchising model as the way to grow. With the help of Francorp, the franchising authority in the country, they are now completing their system and manuals.
From P20,000 investment, EGGLUCK now offers franchising for P755,000 for the food jeepney and P742,000 for the kiosk model.
Winning the NextGen award has opened doors for EGGLUCK. It has received several inquiries at the recent Franchise Asia Philippines Expo and is expected to sign up new franchisees soon.
SIGN UP TO DAILY NEWSLETTER