Karylle, the ‘healthy’ business woman

TV personality and entrepreneur Karylle is not only loving the healthy lifestyle, she’s also living it.

That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise that the 32-year-old host of the noontime variety show “It’s Showtime” is about to open her first The Mango Farm dessert kiosk in Greenhills, San Juan City, near her house.

The Mango Farm is just one of the many food-cart brands under the Fruitas Group of Companies. The Mango Farm sells shakes, juices and other blended cold drinks using fresh mangoes as the main ingredient. Also under the Fruitas Group are the food carts Fruitas, Buko Loco, Black Pearl, Buko ni Fruitas, Juice Avenue, TeaRex, Friends Fries, House of Desserts, among  others.

Karylle says  she’s actually “excited” about this new business venture because it represents everything about her healthy lifestyle. She remembers that the first time she tried a blended drink from Fruitas was at the Naia airport while she was waiting for a flight.

“I’m very excited about my The Mango Farm stall opening because I’m at that point in my life where I know I want a better quality of life,” adds Karylle, who’s also one of the long-time celebrity endorsers for Fruitas. “Gusto ko pagtanda ko healthy ako. I’m very much into my health and fitness and I want other people to have healthier choices, too.”

Part of Karylle’s “healthy choices” is running. According to certain reports, Karylle runs regularly at the Ultra or Bonifacio Global City. She’s also participated in marathons, thanks to her friends from RunRio Team, which organizes full and short marathons in and around the metro.

As for her diet, Karylle would snack on fruits such as mango, star apples, and apples before eating big meals. She’s also into Pilates, a body-conditioning system that improves endurance, flexibility, and muscle strengthening and targets the body’s core area, the legs, back, and arms.

Karylle discovered that she has the knack for selling early on. She remembers that, as a kid, she would never run out of ideas to earn extra money, which she would use to buy the things that she wanted.

“When I was a kid, I would sell cards and posters that I would print and design with my computer and I had a price list and receipt,” she recounts. “My second time to sell anything was the time I sold raffle tickets. We even had a cake raffle to raise funds. That’s when I discovered that I was good at selling things and getting donations.”

Business goals

Karylle’s business smarts continued to improve, as she grew older. And even when she entered the world of show biz in 2001, Karylle managed to not lose sight of her business goals. So when she was able to save up enough capital to embark on her first real big investment in 2007, she chose one that what was close to her heart: a KTV resto-bar called Centerstage Family KTV. “Basically it’s my first investment, Centerstage Family KTV and Resto-Bar on Tomas Morato in Quezon City,” she says. “At first, I was hesitant to invest my savings in Centerstage. But then I realized that I should choose to invest my time and money in businesses that interest me and the things I’m passionate about. I was able to convince myself to invest in Centerstage since I’m passionate about music and entertainment.”

Although there were “challenges” and “big adjustments” that came with running Centerstage, it didn’t take long for Karylle to duplicate the success of her first KTV. Karylle, who also has a degree in Business Management from the Ateneo de Manila University, then opened two more branches of Centerstage KTV, one in Makati and then the other in Pasay City.

“We have opened two more branches since then, one on Jupiter Street in Makati and our latest branch is in Mall of Asia on the Seaside Boulevard, between Hooters bar-resto and Vikings resto,” she adds. The Mall of Asia branch is the biggest of the three, occupying approximately 1,000 square meters of commercial space.

Despite her busy schedule, Karylle still finds the time to take care of her show biz career. A natural multi-tasker, Karylle actually has fun juggling her businesses and show biz commitments. “Aside from the profit, what I find enjoyable about this kind of setup is that I can still do other things I want. For me, I still have my show biz career,” she says. “Doing show biz and running a business are very different, but also alike, because both need time, dedication and patience. A business that promotes and encourages people to lead better lives is easier to manage, most especially for me, because well, basically, I lead a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

Karylle adds that the people around her—the ones she can really trust—make her job a lot easier and the demands of her, more bearable.

“They, the people who care for you, make juggling these responsibilities a bit easier to digest.” These days, Karylle is learning everything that she can from successful entrepreneurs and business books. She is never embarrassed to ask these persons questions. Karylle would ask them for tips and business advice, which she would later on apply to her own businesses.

“I also try to read business books and ask successful businessmen random questions. I find their insights very interesting,” she says. “I also always like to meet up with people from outside the country just to see the way things work outside of the Philippines. I find that there is always a better system available that we can adapt in our country.”

What’s the best piece of advice she can give to aspiring entrepreneurs like her? Karylle keeps it simple: “Make sure to choose something that you’re genuinely interested in because you can never go wrong with that. You’ll always be inspired with ideas to improve your business.”

Interested to follow in Karylle’s footsteps? Call 3302889/0938-7888888 or visit us at  68 Data  corner Cordillera Sts., Barangay Don Manuel, Quezon City to know how you can franchise a Food kiosk business from Fruitas Group of Companies.