Some pointers for canteen entrepreneur-wannabes

With the start of another school year, some enterprising Filipinos set their sights on the lucrative business of school canteens since it is again open season for the various canteens in and around schools. Not only are canteens profitable, work hours are ideal and you get to go on vacation during school breaks.

But managing a canteen is no walk in the park.  Just like in any other business, it doesn’t hurt to study and know all you can before jumping in head first.

From interviews with canteen owners, here are some pointers to keep in mind in putting up this food business:

Locate strategically

Considering that youngsters usually have very limited time for their lunch,  mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks,  you must locate somewhere readily accessible to your market. Generally speaking, the closer you are to the school gates, the better for you.  Also as a general rule, the bigger the school you are catering to, the bigger your prospective market will be.

If you have been awarded a concession to operate the school canteen right within the campus premises, then there is little leeway for you as far as location is concerned:  your location is pre-ordained.  You will be serving more or less a captive market.  This is no call to be complacent, though.  Your so-called “captive” buyers still have other options:  to run for the nearest eatery outside or bring their own baon.

Bigger schools run their canteens like a food court, with several concessionaires vying for the customers’ favor.  In this situation, you still have to try to wangle for the best spot—the one with the most foot traffic— vis-à-vis other concessionaires.

Know your market

According to some of the canteen owners I talked to, one of the major pitfalls in running a canteen is failing to take into account the students’ purchasing power.  You cannot, for example, put up a high-end coffee and donut shop in a canteen where students won’t be able to afford it.

While some exclusive schools boast of franchises in their canteen areas, many students cannot afford high-ticket fares. A regular student in a middle- to lower-end school probably won’t be able to afford filet mignon for lunch.

Make your menu always fresh and interesting.

Over time, your menu which may have at first hit it big among your young customers, may have become all too familiar and boring.  Be sure you offer a wide variety of choices to stave off reactions of “nakakasawa to  death.”  Your old standards may be served with a new twist.  For example adobo flakes or adobo with pineapple slices might sub for the “walang kamatayang” old-fashioned adobo you serve day in and day out.

Be aware of current fads and trends

Keep up with current fads and trends among the students. A popular watering hole for students is loaded with the latest snack food or drink. Students are picky, fads are as changeable as the weather and it is imperative that you keep abreast with the latest fad since lagging behind would make your store “baduy” and “wala sa uso” in the eyes of your customers.

Be on the lookout for new products and trends

Being aware of the current fads is not enough. You should also be on the lookout for new products advertised on TV.

Sherry, a canteen owner said that students would often look for snacks they see on TV the night before. “Minsan kahit wala silang balak bumili pero nakita nilang kaka-advertise lang sa TV, bumibili sila agad,” she adds.

Be bold enough to start a fad too, shares Sherry as she recalled how she started the Frosty fad in her canteen several years ago.  “We started small but word soon spread about the Frosty and it got to a point when we had to dedicate one whole freezer for it and still have everything sold out by the afternoon.”

Practice good PR

Smile a lot and train your staff to be constantly cheerful, too.  Students need a breather after long hours in the classroom with probably some grumpy or overly-strict teacher.  It wouldn’t hurt to call them by their first names.  Accommodate reasonable requests like an extra helping of your fantastic chicken gravy or serving their favorites more often.  You must also learn to be accommodating to the school administrators.  Great pakikisama is what Filipinos are known for and you need an extra dose of good will to succeed in a canteen business.

Be prepared for hard work

A food business needs very careful  monitoring and supervision by the owner.  Good hygiene and food sanitation is of foremost importance and you have to train your staff to stick to certain food-handling standards.  Your inventory must be “just in time”—neither too much nor too little.  Too much may mean spoilage and too little may translate to lost sales.  This calls for a good inventory system.

(The author is with the Serdef Media Bureau.  For more how-to-start and how-to-grow in business articles, visit  www.serdef.org.)