Tapa King goes global

Tapa King has expanded to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It started as a hole-in-the-wall food business in 1987 in the central business district of Makati City.

Thirty-one years later, Tapa King has blossomed to become a major fast-food chain and franchise owner, rivaling bigger food establishments.

“We’re not as big as Jollibee, McDonalds, Mang Inasal, and Shakey’s, but we want to give choices to our people,” said Julius Magallanes, chief operating officer of Ulti Premium Foods Inc., which operates the Tapa King chain here and abroad.

Tapa King started as a takeout counter business on Gallardo Street in the Makati central business district, catering to employees for breakfast and lunch.

It served Filipino food, headlined by the tapsilog, or a combination of “tapa (marinated beef), sinangag (fried rice), and fried egg.

Soon, Tapa King expanded to include branches in key areas of Metro Manila and even Davao City.

Now, it has presence in the Middle East and Singapore in an effort to establish a global brand.

The low-key de Guzman family in the food business originally owned Tapa King, but they sold it to the Gonzales family of Davao City in 2012.

The two families did not know each other, but they did have a common friend who brokered the deal. The sale was consummated soon after.

The new owners quickly embarked on an aggressive expansion and diversification program.

It has put up overseas branches in cities with heavy concentration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We want to make it a global brand and an overseas presence is necessary,” Magallanes said.

But it is focused as well on expanding its local footprint.

Now, Tapa King has 77 branches nationwide, three of which are in Davao City.

It has three branches in Dubai, where close to 700,000 OFWs are present, and one in Singapore, the first overseas branch and opened in 2010.

For those who want to join the group, the franchise fee is pegged at P800,000.

Magallanes said Tapa King had received applications from other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Germany, but added that they are under careful screening.

It has also diversified its food offerings to include kare-kare, bulalo and pinakbet.

“The food business is ticklish. Tastes and preferences change,” Magallanes said.

This year, Tapa King has entered sports as its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“Tapa King stands for nutrition. Hence, it’s only natural to venture into sports,” Magallanes said.

Tapa King, along with San Miguel Corp., was the corporate sponsor of the 2017 “Athlete of the Year” award given by the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association (PSA).

Tapa King is likewise host of the weekly PSA media forum.

Magallanes said Tapa King had bigger plans to join sports, including sponsoring key sports events in the country.—CONTRIBUTED