Alternative mall provides cafes, kitchens with exclusive space

CARLOS (left) and Ortega. Photos by Arnold Almacen

Finding it hard to keep pace with foreign cafes and restaurants sprouting inside malls?

There’s an alternative space for your dream business.

With the hope of growing its client base to include “budding” entrepreneurs in the food industry, Technolux’s concept store Mall of Kitchens (MoK) in Makati City recently revealed a new display of what it called modules, or samples of physical setups of food establishments which it could arrange for interested buyers.

In an interview on Thursday, Norell Ortega, vice president for sales of Foodservice Manila, says the modules, which are displayed permanently inside MoK, are offered as “packages” to potential clients. The six modules showcase a cafe/bar, bakery, gelateria, wine room, show kitchen and hot kitchen, all with operational equipment.

These packages include everything one would need to jump-start a business. For someone looking to put up a cafe, that would include basic equipment such as a coffee machine and grinder, blender, microwave and dishwasher, all of which would cost roughly half a million, says Ortega.

Smallwares such as utensils, plates, glasses, cups and saucers are also made available at MoK. “Clients usually buy these last, but we tell them that these should be bought at the same time as your equipment. Otherwise you end up buying ones meant only for home use, which aren’t as durable,” Ortega adds.

“Of course, we customize the package depending on the clients’ needs and budget,” he says. “But just to give you an idea [of Technolux products’ quality], one of the country’s largest coffee chains uses our blender.”

Without citing specific clients, Jenny Carlos, MoK vice president for sales of smallwares, adds: “[Our products] are present in 95 percent of food establishments, hotels, resorts in the country. Name it, and we’re most likely there.”

As for store interiors, Ortega says MoK partnered with a design firm to provide clients the design services they need. As long as one purchases something from MoK for his food business, whether it’s just an equipment or the total package, Ortega says the “mall” will already waive the interior design fee.

“But if they say, your equipment is too expensive, but I like your design, then you can just pay for the design. It’s 3 percent of the total amount of what was proposed,” says Ortega.

Ortega notes Technolux is very particular about aftersales service. If one of the machines conks out, the technical crew, deployed nationwide, can be at a client’s establishment within four hours to fix the problem.

“We understand that every minute our equipment doesn’t work is already equivalent to a loss for our clients,” says Carlos.

With MoK open from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Carlos says they entertain as many as 20 walk-in guests a day. Chefs and baristas are on hand to do product demos, as well as provide free food and drinks.

The store’s over 3,000 smallwares are still displayed on shelves in one area, allowing guests to do a little shopping for high-quality kitchen products.

“Some of these they can find in other retail outlets, but, of course, our prices are more competitive here,” Carlos says.

Ortega says MoK’s redesign is all about helping new food entrepreneurs gain a foothold in the competitive industry by introducing them to high-quality tools which they can invest in. And it’s not just about selling equipment. Before MoK takes on clients, Ortega says officials give them advice on how they can sustain their chosen food business.

“There are many people, mostly retired OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who get really excited because they have the money, but they don’t know where to start. So we give them a computation to show them how they can make the most out of their investment; like if you buy a certain equipment from us, this is how much you need to make in a day,” he says.

He adds he and his colleagues even assist clients whose businesses unfortunately failed to find buyers for their discarded equipment.

“For some, we’re talking about their life savings [which they invest in our products]. So we do what we can to provide them our best service,” he says.