MANILA, Philippines—What was started as a hobby by a young housewife way back in the 1970s has now bloomed into a highly successful enterprise whose creamy cakes, delectable pastries and delicious meals have practically become an integral part of every Filipino celebration.

Turning 29 this year, Red Ribbon Bakeshop Inc. now has 200 branches nationwide—the latest of which just opened in Zamboanga City—and 25 in the United States. And at the rate it is going, Red Ribbon stands a good chance of beating its rival to the No. 1 slot in terms of branch network in no time.

Since the Jollibee Group took over Red Ribbon—with about 130 branches then—from its founders, Danny and Tess Moran, in 2005, the bakeshop’s network has grown by an average of 25 branches a year.

Red Ribbon president Joseph C. Tanbuntiong expects faster growth in the coming years, given the Jollibee Group’s all-out support for the bakeshop.

Reinventing itself

The job of keeping Red Ribbon’s growth momentum falls in the hands of Tanbuntiong, who joined the bakeshop only last April from sister firm Jollibee Food Corp., and marketing director Albert Cuadrante, also a newbie in Red Ribbon.

Both know that the job on hand calls for much more than just putting up new branches in record time. They know they have to continue reinventing Red Ribbon to keep up with the changing tastes and requirements of the market, and to stay in great shape for the tight competition in the P8-billion bakeshop industry. This, however, needs to be done without losing the Red Ribbon charm that has captivated the hearts of many Filipinos for many years now.

Taste, look and feel

To keep its loyal customers and win new ones, Red Ribbon leaves nothing to chance when it comes to its products and services. “We make sure our products taste and look great, and are affordable,” says Cuadrante.

Its production mill continuously churns out new cakes, pastries and meals that appeal to both the eyes and the palate, and are easy on the pocket. To date, Red Ribbon’s Cakes by Design Centers have more than 500 specialty cakes for all sorts of occasions one can think of—birthdays, graduations, marriage proposals, weddings, anniversaries. These are on top of the traditional cakes and pastries Red Ribbon is known and which are readily available in every branch of the bakeshop.

One can now find and get from Red Ribbon the types of cakes that, in the past, can only be bought from specialty or independent bakeshops at more affordable prices and with added service. It offers photo cakes-while-you-wait (photo cakes used to be ordered days ahead from specialty bakeshops), character cakes, as well as cakes originally designed by the buyers.

Innovations

Red Ribbon also has “localized” cakes carrying themes of the locality where a branch is situated, such as Muslim-theme cakes in the South. It also studies and adapts to the preferences of the people in the areas it serves.

For instance, certain branches in the United States have loyal Latino customers, which Cuadrante says, is a fast growing market for Red Ribbon branches in the United States. So they came up with cakes and pastries that these particular customers want, such as the Tres Leches, ube and mango cakes.

Visual identity

Taking a step ahead, Red Ribbon took into its fold two of the country’s top fashion designers—Frederick Peralta and Rajo Laurel—to design beautiful wedding cakes that take inspiration from the latest trends in the wedding fashion world. The two came up with a wide array of wedding cakes lineup—from the classiest for the grandest weddings to the simplest yet elegant types for simple weddings.

One of the many developments that transpired after the Jollibee Group took over Red Ribbon was the change in the brand’s visual identity. Without losing the old charm, the new owner injected in the brand a more contemporary and dynamic look. With this comes the new store look with a more modern, contemporary design that will give customers a delightful dining experience. The change in the stores’ look is ongoing, but the new ones now sport the new look—with the Red Ribbon colors such as chocolate, mocha, mango yellow and ube violet dominating the stores.

The Tanbuntiong-Cuadrante-led team will also pursue the aggressive opening of new stores in the country and overseas. Its first foray abroad outside the United States, according to Tanbuntiong, will likely be Mexico simply because Mexicans have the same palate as Filipinos.

Branch network expansion can be done by the company itself or through franchising. Of its 200 branches nationwide, almost 50 percent are franchise stores. But Red Ribbon is very strict when it comes to choosing its franchisees to ensure that the quality of its products and services will not be compromised.

“They have to meet our capital requirement and they have to have good locations. We check their background, we want to make sure we share the same values and commitment. We make sure they will abide by our standards and support our objectives,” Cuadrante says.

The Red Ribbon management is involved in every step of the establishment of a franchise store, even in the recruitment of its staff. Once a franchise store is on stream, it has to undergo regular audits by the mother company. Red Ribbon has a scoring system for its franchisees and it rewards with incentives those who do well. For those who don’t, corrective actions will be undertaken.

“It is like entering marriage. We don’t want to end up in divorce,” he adds.