One of the buzzwords that emerged out
of 2016 is the “side hustle”, referring to income one earns outside one’s
regular job. That the first world has lent mainstream credence relatively
recently to this term may be amusing to entrepreneurial Pinoys who have long
practiced or recognized the need for a side hustle, or what we’ve called it for
years before the modern lexicon wanted to make it hipper, the “sideline”.
Still for many, taking a full head-on
plunge into entrepreneurship is intimidating, but Best Value Factory Food
Outlet’s HANEP Negosyo program makes it easier for anyone trying to venture
into a side business and even grow it enough to become a full-fledged
entrepreneur.
What the HANEP (informally short for
HanepBuhay) program does is package small food businesses, consisting of a
machine and free initial supply of goods to get you started. You can choose
from a different array of machines and price points. The cheapest is the fryer,
where for Php2,900, you can already start selling fries, squid balls, and
snacks of that variety in your neighborhood/school, provided, of course, zoning
laws allow it and you have already obtained the proper permits.
The best thing about getting your
HanepNegosyo package from Best Value is the quality of the products and the
support they provide their customers. “The original intention is for us to
penetrate the market with our products,” explains Princess Guia, Sales and
Operations Supervisor of Best Value. “We deliberately priced it low because the
goal is not the one time purchase of the machine itself, but for the repeat
purchase of consumables.” And customers have done just that. Best Value has
seen the demand for their products rise with the introduction of the HanepNegosyo program.
Customers who have contracts with
other suppliers often switch to Best Value’s products once contracts with their
previous suppliers have ended because of the quality. “Even if our soft serve
mixes are not as cheap as our competitors, I have talked to customers who
switched to us because they preferred the taste and texture of our soft serve
mixes,” says Guia.
That Best Value gets most of their
supplies from their mother company, Oleo-Fats, a specialty food manufacturer,
means these products are sold at factory prices. It is significant to note that
however, that Best Value also carries an entire array of products and not just
those manufactured by their company. Best Value has come to evolve from being a
selling arm of the Oleo-Fats, into a full-fledged store, that sources their
products from various companies to service their customers.
The convenience for entrepreneurs of
not having to source products from multiple suppliers cannot be overemphasized.
Best Value is a one stop shop that carries everything their customers could
possibly need. For instance, the store does not only carry popcorn kernels, but
also popcorn oil (there is a special oil to best pop corn kernels, also for
color and butter scent), flavoring powder, and the various-sized holders as
well. For the soft serve ice-cream machines, Best Value carries not just the powder
mixes, butalso dips, hard shell coating, syrups, and a whole variety of
toppings, as well as cones, cups, even spoons.
The Hanep brand currently carries
seven packages: Fryer, Popcorn Maker, Soft Serve Ice Cream, Juice, Granita,
3-in-1 Vendo, and the Waffle Maker, that comes in both conventional square
waffle and hotdog size. The machines range in price from Php2,900 for the
fryer; the waffle maker is Php8,500; the juice dispensers are around Php18,000,
at the top of the range are soft serve machines at P100,000+, and Guia adds the
mixes, other related ingredients and materials, all for free, “Basically
everything they need to start.” And it’s not a paltry amount. The soft serve
package comes with 10 kilos of mixes, “which amounts to 30 cones with 2.5
regular twirls,” recites Guia, as well as dips, fudge and sprinkles. And yes,
you will be taught to twirl because not twirling the right amount will cost
you. Hanep also keeps an eye on business trends. More recently, the rise in
kiosks serving churros has seen the company develop a churros package. “Our goal is to come up with more Negosyo
packages,” Guia offers.
What Best Value offers that other
companies may not is machine warranty and continuing customer support. Some of
the machines, like the Granita dispenser come from Italy, and the care and
maintenance of the machine is a major consideration. But the Hanep program
really encourages entrepreneurial ventures, with low risk outlays and even offering
HANEP packages on installment. They even have refurbished machines at cheaper
prices. The demand for machines is so high, that they sometimes ran out of
machines. Hanep offers one year warranties on their machines, and you can still
take the machine to Best Value for repairs after the warranty has ended. If you
happen to be near their office in the Libis area, the company is willing to
send their repairman to your place of business. “We’re very flexible with our
customers,” says Guia. They service clients all over the country and will ship
machines out to their provincial clients.There are no franchise fees or royalty
fees, which really gives the control of the business to the entrepreneur.
“The margins are small, but the goal
is for the customer to see the value of our products. We want their trust. And
it’s not just the products, what we really give them is the service,” says
Guia. “I once read,‘The customer doesn’t care how much you know, until they
know how much you care.’” – a dictum Best Value has certainly taken to heart.
(Check out the various HANEP Negosyo packages
at Best Value Factory Food Outlet at 62 CalleIndustria, Bagumbayan, Quezon City, (02) 635 4437 or (02) 635
0680 loc 386, 0918-903-9328.Store Hours: 9AM-7PM daily).
Comments
Post a Comment