What are the things to consider when starting a pizza franchise in the Philippines?
- Know your budget
- Know the needed registration requirements
- Choosing a pizza franchise service style (sit-down, countertop, or food cart)
- Choose a reputable brand
- Find a great location for your pizza franchise
- Have the right pizza equipment
- Hire qualified employees
- Market your pizza franchise
- Host a soft opening or launch your pizza business
Everybody loves pizza. It’s a great choice for dinners and parties at home, at school, and in the office. That’s why it’s also the top pick for many business owners to open a franchise.
Franchising is when the owner of the business (franchisor) gives an independent operator the right to distribute their products. When doing so, they apply its business model and use its brand and trademark.
It can be exciting to open up your franchise. However, there are some things to consider when starting a pizza franchise in the Philippines. Read on to find out some of the important things to know as you start your new business venture.
Know your budget
Just like any business, you need to set and know your budget before making anything official. You need to know how much you’re willing to spend and invest in a particular business.
In the Philippines, you will need to pay a franchise fee to the franchisor. Think of this fee as an investment. When you pay this, the franchisor provides you with a basic operations training program, store design, layout assistance, and equipment needed for the franchise.
However, the budget you set should also be able to handle the unanticipated expenses that can arise. This can include future repairs and maybe even hiring extra staff later on.
Know the needed registration requirements
In the Philippines, there are no specific laws that cover franchising businesses. Instead, they are covered in certain provisions in the Intellectual Property Code. However, you’ll need to prepare documents to legalize owning the franchise of your choice.
With the franchisor, you’ll need to fill out an application form, write a letter of intent to the franchise, and a site location proposal. Sometimes you’ll need to submit more depending on the franchise. Take Pizza Pedrico’s from the Jimini Food Group. You’ll need to submit a completed feasibility study, a lease offer, and a resume on top of the application form and letter of intent.
Once those have been approved by the company and the franchise fee is paid, you can focus on acquiring the government requirements. These include registering your business name with the Department of Trade and Industry and acquiring barangay clearance & mayor’s permit.
Choosing a pizza franchise service style (sit-down, countertop, or food cart)
Now that you know your budget and the necessary business requirements, you can now decide the style of your pizza franchise. There are three kinds of styles for you to choose from – sit-down, countertop, or food cart.
A sit-down franchise is simply a restaurant. Here, there is an allotted space for them to sit down and dine. For this kind of franchise, you’ll need to find a restaurant space to rent or lease in a mall or commercial building.
A countertop franchise refers to stalls in food courts or cafeterias. There is a space for you to cook and take orders from.
Lastly, a food cart is a mobile set-up where people can walk up and buy your products right away. These can also be seen in food courts and even terminal stations. Santino’s and Pizza Pedrico’s of the Jimini Food Group are two good picks for a food cart franchise.
Choose a reputable brand
When you choose a franchise, you’ll need to pick a reputable brand. Do market research to see what brands customers and other franchise owners trust. This will help the business be as smooth sailing as possible.
For example, Jimini Food Group is the largest pizza network in the country where you can open two franchises: Santino’s and Pizza Pedrico’s. It’s been around since 1999 with over 1,000 food kiosks open nationwide.
Find a great location for your pizza franchise
One of the biggest things to consider when starting a pizza franchise in the Philippines is location. You’ll want to set up your franchise in a place that gets a lot of foot traffic from its target customers.
For Santino’s, a franchise of the Jimini Food Group, its target market includes consumers with a fast-paced lifestyle like professionals, students, and even families. That’s why you’ll usually spot their food kiosks in malls, supermarkets, and train terminals.
Have the right pizza equipment
Since you’ll be opening a pizza franchise, you’ll need the proper equipment. The kind of equipment needed will be dictated by what kind of franchise you’re opening.
All kinds of franchises will need to have pizza racks and stands where they can properly store prepped and baked pizza. This can allow you to hold many pizzas at a time. You’ll also need pizza cutters and cutting boards you can serve the food on.
It’s all important for food kiosks and countertop franchises to have a heating lamp or heating equipment. This will ensure that hot and fresh pizza will be served to customers.
Restaurants and countertop franchises will need to purchase the necessary baking equipment like ovens, pizza pans, and other tools.
Hire qualified employees
You’ll want to leave your franchise with people you can trust. During the hiring process, look for skilled and qualified employees who can help make your franchise a success.
It will be good to hire people with experience in the food industry, but don’t be scared to hire people you can train as well. Be sure to make visits to your franchise to ensure things are operating smoothly and properly.
Market your pizza franchise
It’s good to get the word out about your franchise. You can do this both online and offline.
You can start this by putting up posters in its future location to announce to people there that you are coming. It can get people excited about your arrival in their food court or canteen.
You can also put up accounts on social media for your franchise. If you have the budget, invest in advertising them on these platforms as well.
Host a soft opening or launch your pizza business
A good way to test the waters in business is through a soft opening. Think of this as a preliminary launch for your pizza franchise. Here, you showcase what your restaurant has to offer to a limited number of people.
For sit-down franchises, you can do a soft opening to a hand-picked guest list. For counter-top and food kiosks, you can offer a limited number of items to the public. These can be crowd favorites from the mother franchise and some of your favorites from the store.
Key Takeaway
There are many things to consider when starting a pizza franchise in the Philippines, from business requirements to feasibility studies to hiring staff. Take the time to do your research about the kind of pizza franchise you’d want to handle and develop.
With the Jimini’s Food Group, you can franchise Pizza Pedrico’s or Santino’s. There are two winning brands of the group that many will enjoy. Click here to learn more about franchising a brand from Jimini’s.