a tour of his success stories

introducing

ROMMEL T JUAN
Start your own business with resources you have now. You don t have to make a huge amount of investment. Start from what you like to do, so that you can enjoy it, and that should lead to success at the end.

Order of Presentation

His car eer career

About Binalot

Corporate Social Responsibility

We have features for every step of the way

Success Stories : A Filipino Entrepreneurs

Not everyone is meant to become an entrepreneur Source of credit is important Being employed doesn t mean you can t be an entrepreneur Hard work, perseverance and sacrifice

His Career Rommel T Juan

All Wrapped Up and Everywhere to Go This fun, Filipino fast food is making a difference from the lives of the people making its packaging, to the customers, and in the way sustainable businesses are run

Getting to know Rommel T. Juan

Name: Rommel Tambunting Juan Year of Birth: 1972 Position: President and CEO Binalot Fiesta Foods/General Manager and VP for Sales & Marketing of jeep body builder and exporter MD Juan Enterprises Course/School: BS Marketing/ De La Salle University Course/School: Masters in Entrepreneurship /Asian Institute of Management

The idea After graduation and racking up work experience for a couple of big name automotive companies (one of the family businesses is producing wrangler-type jeeps), Juan worked for his father. Realizing he had enough free time for other ventures, he invited his brother Raffy to put up Binalot. Remember when we were young, how mom used to wrap our lunch in banana leaves? he asked Raffy, jogging memories of weekend trips to the family s small farm in Alfonso, Cavite. So there. Binalot ( wrapped ). But we didn t dive into it right away. We researched, sold the products to our friends, gave out survey sheets and asked them what they thought. The current red egg and tomato combination, for example, used to just be one hard-boiled egg. People said they preferred that.

Learning the Ropes

The idea (continuation ) After going through the initial phases of the business (see milestones), Binalot opened for franchising in 2004. We started with almost nothing, Juan says. We had five investors who gave P10,000 each, and we just rolled it. By the time we started franchising, I realized we already had 50 people on our payroll. It wasn t just for fun and a creative outlet anymore. People depended on us for a living. I also realized that with franchising, the business became relationship-based. May ibang tao na makikialam sa brand mo (other people already had a say in your brand), so I had to set up middle management, a system. So I invested in people a marketing manager, human resources manager, finance consultant. It ceased to be a mom-and-pop shop. When we started, I did everything. But business is like that: you have to graduate from (a certain level) and replicate yourself and hire professionals to help you.

Learning the Ropes

The idea (continuation ) Six years hence, Binalot will be opening a branch soon in Legazpi, Albay, our farthest so far, and we re also looking at abroad. The market is still growing, says Juan. You just have to find your niche. Ang dami nang players but people love our food.

Learning the Ropes

Pound for pound, you get better value for money.

The idea

Cultivating Pinoy-hood through food

Initially, it was more like a game we were basically playing, Juan said. Neither of the brothers could cook, so their family s chef did that for them. When Aileen Anastacio, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, joined the group, they started getting serious. From the kitchen of the brothers condominium unit, Anastacio prepared daily 20 assorted meals (then only adobo, longganisa and tocino), which the three sold to their friends. We had allocations. If you can t sell it, you buy it yourself. So we were forced to sell, Juan says. The response was better than anticipated so that a few months later, the trio had to hire a cook and a girl to answer phone calls, since we were basically just delivery then. Binalot s guerilla operation at that time was to focus delivery on a specific building. By the second week of operations, they already bought a motorcycle and hired a delivery boy. And before they knew it, they were already delivering to the whole of Makati.

The idea (continuation)

Cultivating Pinoy-hood through food

With all his experiences while establishing Binalot, Juan believes that SMEs are the real hope of the country. Generally, however, even budding entrepreneurs shouldn t depend on help from the government. (At Binalot) we basically depend on ourselves, he says. For Juan, Binalot s success is in its Filipino authenticity. I am hard pressed to find any direct competition (sans copycats), he says. Our vision for the company is to be the number one truly Filipino fastfood in the country, which promotes Filipino humor, values, traditions. And we ll get there.

Going Green
There was another level to hurdle after entering the world of franchising, one which Juan committed himself to ever since his aunt Figaro founder and environmentallyconscious entrepreneur Pacita Juan introduced him to the practice of CSR. I wanted to close our supply chain and get our material directly from the source, Juan says, but I was never successful. People I talked to didn t want to close a deal, or were hesitant Then giant typhoon Milenyo happened in 2006. All the banana leaves in Luzon were wiped out. We had to import our leaves from the Visayas, and I was selling it to our franchisees while losing money.

Going Green
Juan decided to look for his own suppliers. We found a guy in Nagcarlan, Laguna, he relates. You wouldn t think he could be trusted. His contact looked more like a man given to drink than to manage a community. But he really stepped up to the plate, says Juan. He thought we were placing just one order of 200 bundles of banana leaves. Di nya alam, tuloytuloy (he didn t know that it was an indefinite contract). So he offered to organize his community to supply us with leaves. That s how we started our initial CSR.

Going Green
The men harvest the banana leaves, the women trim and clean them. We also train them to make banana chips and ketchup, which we sell in our stores. It s a win-win situation. For example: it used to be that the women made P250 per four hours of trimming and cleaning leaves; now they can finish the job in just an hour and a half. The DAHON program is being replicated in Calamba, and soon in Zambales. So we like to say, if you order Binalot, you alleviate poverty one community at a time, says Juan, and you re being environment-friendly too.

Going Green
Last year, Binalot saved 1.5 million styropacks from being used. If you see photos of Ondoy, Juan notes, you ll see that the flooding problem really stemmed from the problem of trash. If what we all use is biodegradable, that wouldn t have happened. Slowly, Juan is phasing out the use of plastic from his stores. I d also like to encourage customers to bring their own water bottles. We also want to bank on the unique native packaging we have. Even the construction materials used in the stores should be ecofriendly.

Going Green
Also general manager of MD Juan Enterprises, makers of the electronic jeepneys plying Makati, and recently, Quezon City, Juan is also the first in the country to introduce electronic motorcycles for deliveries. Us Filipinos, we re really not that wasteful. He adds, deadpan: Just a little more work and we can achieve Avatar status.

About Binalot

Ang Pambansang Tsibugan

Company profile Name Address Telephone Fax Founded Number of employees Type of business Type of Organization Type of business : Binalot Fiesta Foods Inc. : 3686 BUJ Building Sun Valley Drive, Sun Valley Subdivision, Paranaque City, Philippines 1700 : (632) 821-0509 : (632) 824-7014 : 1996 : 94 : Franchising of Filipino fast-food shops : Corporation : Restaurant/Quick Service Restaurant

Vision To be the Preferred Truly Filipino quick-service restaurant in the Philippines which promotes Filipino Culture and sustains the environment Mission To be the industry benchmark in promoting Philippine cultural values and positive traits To give fair returns to all stakeholders To improve the quality of life of all Binalot employees To promote sustainable livelihood in the communities that we support To promote a variety of nourishing, healthy, Filipino food

Corporate Values At Binalot, we value . . . Team Work, Loyalty, Joy, Integrity, Creativity and Efficiency, anchored on Faith in God Filipinos love to eat, which explains why practically every major global food brand is in the country; fast food brands, especially. These international franchises and their local imitations dominate. Filipino dining taste, in turn, has become very Western

Business Concept Coined from the Filipino word which means wrapped , Binalot is just that classic Filipino fare wrapped in banana leaves in traditional local fashion. The Binalot menu is composed of various favorite meals such as adobo, tapa, bistek, tocino, longganisa among others, all atop steaming hot rice and garnished with appetizing sidings of salted egg and tomato. The concept promotes the traditional way of enjoying well-loved Pinoy food and a festive Fiesta ambiance that every Filipino can associated with.

Stores

His Corporate Social Responsibility

Dangal At Hanapbuhay para sa Nayon

Doing well, while doing good, is the mantra of the growing number of companies who espouse Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.). We in Binalot, however, believe that for C.S.R. to make even better sense, it should promote the win-win approach. While setting aside funds to help communities is a noble undertaking, it would be better if both the corporation and the community benefit from the C.S.R. program. This ensures that the project can be sustained over a long term, and not become just a one-shot deal.

Corporate Social

Responsibility

Our DAHON (Dangal At Hanapbuhay para sa Nayon) Program, we are proud to say, does just that an example of how both the community and the company can benefit from the same program. Initiated at the start of 2007, DAHON helps farmers from Nagcarlan, Laguna, a quaint town nestled at the foothills of mystic Mt. Banahaw, about 100 kms. South of Manila, earn more from selling banana leaves. And as the farmers plant and sell more banana leaves, Binalot benefits because we are ensured a steady supply of quality banana leaves at a low price. Binalot is heavily dependent on banana leaves because our meals are served wrapped in a banana leaf, which locks in the food s flavor (Binalot is a Filipino word which means wrapped). Having that dedicated community that not only supplies the leaves, but also cuts and sanitizes them to Binalot s specifications, eliminates added costs.

Corporate Social

Responsibility

The DAHON program s benefits have also gone beyond just the economic. DAHON, for instance, has empowered the women of the community as they now earn about 200 pesos a day from cutting the leaves. It has also given the elderly a sense of purpose because they ve been given a chance to remain productive by helping cut and prepare the leaves. The environment has also benefited from the program as leaf trimmings, which used to be thrown away by Binalot s commissary (and therefore find their way to the city s mounting trash heaps), are now used as compost material at the community level. Even the community chapel cum day care center has also benefited from the DAHON program, acquiring a much needed renovation and re-painting, with labor and materials provided by Binalot.

Corporate Social

Responsibility

And the benefits just keep on coming. Plans are afoot to set up backyard fishponds and vegetable gardens (particularly tomatoes and onions, which are among Binalot s staple ingredients), which will further augment the farmers incomes and ensure a steady supply of ingredients to Binalot. Binalot is also looking into the possibility of duplicating this successful model to other communities in other parts of the country that can be developed to supply other goods that Binalot needs to expand.

Corporate Social

Responsibility

With the DAHON program, Binalot has shown that you don t have to be big to make a difference. You just need to have an idea and the commitment to turn it into reality. Binalot is truly committed to advocating for rural development by persistently empowering the communities
Corporate Social

Responsibility

But wait There s More!

What is binalot?

What is Binalot?

Thank you and Good Day! ROMMEL T. JUAN