Bo's Coffee Club Proves Filipino Businesses That Innovate Can and Will Survive Against Foreign Competition

All the cries that foreign investors will automatically crush the local industry are just false. The first proof is how Jollibee managed to prove itself against McDonald's first in the Philippines and now in the world. Now, it's time to feature Bo's Coffee Club. Although I'm not such a big fan of coffee clubs myself (since I prefer tea)--I think it would be time to talk about another creative entrepreneur known as Steve Benitez. Steve is the founder of Bo's Coffee Club way back in 1996 and it's still going strong today even when there are other alternatives such as the tea shops which are popping up left and right.

Endeavor Philippines said this very positive thing about Steve himself as the founder of the famous local coffee shop:

Fast forward to 2015, Bo’s Coffee sets itself apart by serving customers with authentic and unparalleled Filipino hospitality and is vying with international chains, such as Starbucks, and even some local copycats. Bo’s Coffee is in fact the first coffee chain in the Philippines to launch a loyalty app, enabling the company to gain in-depth insights into customer purchasing behavior and preferences. Steve, who was also the President of the Entrepreneurs Organization Philippines, is proof that local entrepreneurs can compete head-to-head with international brands with the right blend of innovation and customer service.

I could think about how Bo's Coffee Club managed to survive in the face of competition. So far, there have been plenty of competitions. I personally want to think that both coffee shops and tea shops are almost inseparable. One can get a glass of coffee from a tea shop and a glass of tea from a coffee shop. I could remember how I ordered some tea from Bo's Coffee Club while waiting for my classmate in college. Though, I still found it pricey back then without understanding that coffee shops and tea shops have to charge higher because of their premium ingredients, longer operating hours, and larger crew as well as to maintain all that fine quality. If Bo's Coffee Club didn't charge its prices (which are fairly priced) then the company wouldn't be able to expand.

1996 was, for me, one of those simpler times so I didn't really care about Bo's Coffee Club. I found it burdensome to pay for their products until I got into the Taiwanese tea craze. Drinking coffee milk tea from a Taiwanese tea shop is no different from a coffee shop's premium coffee, price-wise. The milk tea craze happened and it became a substitute for coffee. The prices in tea shops aren't significantly lower. Coffee shops have to sell at a higher price too, as mentioned, due to the fact it's not easy to maintain their good quality of food and services. Tea shops tend to sell a little bit lower if they don't offer the delicious food that coffee shops offer to their customers. Jolly Bubble, for one, sells delicious food so I can expect higher prices. Then again, both are direct competitors especially when some branches operate at a 24/7 crew--the higher cost of employment and cost of utilities means they have to sell higher.

Bo's managed to endure from 1996 to the present. What makes Bo's Coffee Club stand out? I would say it's their constant innovation. Notice that competitors tend to be near each other when they're renting in the malls. Bo's opened its branches here where the milk tea franchises are popping. For example, Bo's will be facing off against Chatime, Yifang, and ITealicious in selling beverages. Bo's Coffee Club also competes against the international brand Starbucks. Guess what? Bo's, as a coffee club, still stands strong because it continues to innovate to serve as much quality as possible. Sure, I may be preferring a glass of fruit tea. However, I might want to grab some of Bo's delicious premium pastries which I believe the price is worth the unique taste. I may also want to get some Bo's Coffee if ever I'm craving coffee than coffee from a tea store.

I would like to say that inviting foreign investors to do business in the Philippines is a good thing. It will drive competition. I don't think Bo's Coffee Club will continue to innovate (and raise prices when necessary to do so) if it wasn't for foreign competition. Bo's Coffee Club chose to face the competition head-on. Its innovative thinking and winner mentality are why it continues to survive for decades. Hopefully, like Jollibee, Bo's Coffee Club may soon become a worldwide brand to compete against Chatime, Gong Cha, and the like to give customers more choices along the way.

References

"Our Origins--About Us"

https://www.boscoffee.com/pages/about-us

"Steve Benitez--Bo's Coffee"

https://www.endeavor.org.ph/steve-benitez

Comments

How Many MORE Unmitigated Typhoon Disasters Before Filipinos Realize That the Filipino First Policy is FAILING Them?!

GMA Network I remember surviving through Typhoon Odette last 2022. Tino happened on November 6, 2025, which also reminds me that Yolanda's anniversary came two days later . Yolanda was even worse than Odette! Thankfully, Cebu City's impact wasn't as bad, and power didn't take too long to return, unlike Yolanda. However, seeing news reports such as an investigation done against Slater Young's project in Monterazzas de Cebu should highlight a bigger problem. Looking at the photos of floods on Facebook makes me think, "How many more unmitigated typhoon disasters until Filipinos realize that the Filipino First Policy is failing them and that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines badly needs updates?" For die-hard defenders like Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. (who will turn 90 this December 20) or Atty. Christian Monsod (who's 89 this year), they're prone to saying that it's just a matter of implementation . However, whether we want to admit it...

Confusing Foreign Direct Investment for Foreign Imperialism for the Bajillionth Time

I guess those fools of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (and many of its deluded supporters) either refuse to get it or are blatantly lying. Almost every rally held by what many believe are CPP-NPA legal fronts also confuses foreign investors for foreign invasion or even foreign imperialism . Once again, do I need to say that 100% FDI ownership is all about the shares and not land ownership ? What makes it even more hypocritical is that they are actually recording these things on imported media . They're sharing their anti-FDI rants using imported devices, imported platforms, and imported social media (read here ). When I do ask them on Facebook, they say how can they take them seriously and that they're "simply forced to participate in capitalism". Did anybody (especially those they call "evil capitalists") force them to buy the expensive Apple equipment when they could've settled for Xiaomi or Huawei? A simple research on the dictionary will tell us...

Filipino First Policy Also Responsible That ONLY 2/10 Pinoys Have Emergency Funds

Yes, it's been a day since Typhoon Tino. It was a stormy, scary time, and I thought about how expenses were piling up after I was hit by Typhoon Odette . Thankfully, I had contingency savings at that time. However, with Uswan moving upwards and entering another area of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, I considered the issue of emergency savings. I thought about how Christmas can be the most stressful time of the year, with issues such as traffic caused by last-minute Christmas shopping . This time, I thought about some not-so-surprising statistics on Filipinos. It turns out that only 2/10 Filipinos have enough emergency savings . This should be considered disturbing, and this is another thing I failed to consider in my younger, more foolish years, according to the Philippine Star : Commissioned by insurance firm EastWest Ageas, the PURPLE Report conducted by consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ showed that most Filipinos only have P50,000 in emerg...

Davide Contradicts Himself by Having Experience as a UN DIPLOMAT While Supporting the Filipino First Policy

October is United Nations Month. I would like to bring up the issue of Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., the favorite source and echo chamber of the anti-constitutional reform groups. I wrote an earlier post where I asked to whom Filipinos should listen to between Kishore Mahbubani and Davide, that Davide was actually a former UN diplomat , until such time of his honorable resignation . I Googled "Hilario Davide Jr. United Nations" and discovered Davide actually studied in SOKA University, during the time he was a UN diplomat ! I would even want to share these words written by Davide, 50 years after Soka University was founded. In just fifty years from its founding on April 2, 1971, our SOKA University has more than fully proven itself as the "highest seat of learning for humanistic education; cradle of a new culture; and a fortress of peace for mankind." It has gone beyond the borders of a great nation through various units in other parts of the world and its comprehens...

Instead of Hating Successful Chinese-Filipinos, Why Not LEARN from Their SUCCESS Instead?

It's Chinese New Year and I can remember some crazy stuff back in my childhood. Right now though, there are still some Filipinos of brown descent (either Malay or Indonesian) who still have their typical bitter attitude towards successful people. I was reminded of someone who blamed the rich, rather than their poor attitude towards money, as to why she had to work as a working student. There are still some who have their attitude of hating the rich for simply being rich . I don't deny that some rich people deserve hate. But why hate the rich person who has gotten rich through honest gain and hard work? Why not learn from good rich people who can offer sound advice instead of being bitter about their success? Some Filipinos of non-Chinese origin may feel too proud about their being "Pure Filipino". However, any study of Filipino history will reveal that their brown skin isn't too unique. We can see Malaysians and Indonesians tend to have brown skin. Some of the ea...

Phishing Can Be Done By the LEGALLY EMPLOYED in LEGITIMATE Financial Institutions

It might be easy for some to ignore the obvious phishing emails such as a complete stranger asking for money, a too-good-to-be-true employment offer, a Ponzi scheme offering huge returns in such a short time, a pyramid scam that promises to pay you every time you recruit, etc. when you've guilt some experience. I was once hit by a pyramid scam and lost a small amount of money. I decided not to pursue recruiting because I was too busy trying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration. However, what's so often ignored is the world of employee fraud. Besides, some phishing activities can be done by legally employed financial institution employees. Don't believe me? Well, I believe that's what happened to me today when I lost some money in a GCash "verification" process since it looked so legitimate. Apparently, the GCash scam was done were legally employed staff and not some programmer. Some people are so greedy that they want money fast regardles...

My Experience with Mr. India and Its Successor, Bollywood Tandoor

#NindotKaayo I could remember back then when Mr. India opened in Gaisano Country Mall before it was closed down and replaced by Rusty's. Back then, I was quite wary of Indian restaurants because of my experience with a restaurant I'll not name but I felt I was five-sixed by it. I remembered learning to drive and going to Gaisano Country Mall to try Mr. India around in 2014. It was a nice, cozy place that served affordable Indian food. The owner, Gulab "Soni" Vasnani was the one to try and challenge the stereotypes. I think one of the best strategies he did was to allow some customization in spicy levels. Some like it spicy and some like it mild. I did try to eat at Little India and had my food ordered mild . Indian food can be too spicy for some such as how the South Indian style restaurants carry theirs. My first picks were chicken curry, vegetable shawarma (which had tofu), Indian bread (especially their paratha), and some of their biryani. It was pretty much a goo...

Refuting the Myth that Only FDIs Will Get Rich If You Invite Them to Do Business in Your Home Country

Assignment Point 2022 is just around the corner. It's really something to think that some Filipinos still don't understand economics. I remembered talking about the need for economic liberalization. However, the common misconception about foreign direct investment (FDI) can be linked to nonsense such as, "Why will you let them invest here? Only they will get rich!" This is baloney when you've got access to the rich digital media to access real great constitutional experts who made their country great. I would be referring to great men such as former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, the late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Deng Xiaoping of China, Kishore Mahbubani the former dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Maybe, we can also talk about how foreign investments played a role with the administrations of Fidel V. Ramos, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III (Noynoy). Foreig...

The STUPIDITY of Insisting that Equity Restrictions in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines Exist for "National Security"

As the call for economic charter change goes on, I feel the need to educate some people with common sense . I'm reading comments on Facebook that 60-40 (or any similar ownership restrictions) is for the "security of the Philippines" or that certain sectors can't be allowed 100% ownership on the part of the MNC. Once again, do I need to remind people for the nth time that 100% FDI ownership is all about share ownership ? Sadly, many Filipinos misunderstand what 100% FDI means (read here ). What 100% FDI ownership means is that MNCs don't need to look for a Filipino partner, only to be burdened with having to give up 60% (or more) of the net profits after taxes and they only keep 40% (or less). That's why I called such an arrangement as overpriced rent (read here ). Some of these people I ran into on Facebook (of all places) are too beholden to Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. It was last 2018 when Davide Jr. also said that the Philippines may become a "colony ...

Talking Economics with an Overeating Glutton

Two years ago, I wrote an entry about why discussing economics with an overspender is frustrating . Now, I was looking at certain fat people who say really dumb things about economics. Just recently, I was looking at a certain fat idiot (fortunately, he only has 1K+ followers) who posted on Facebook that not only will the parliamentary system cause the Philippines to become a dictatorship, but he also says that changing economic provisions will cause the Philippines to collapse and the country to fall into the hands of foreigners. I won't name the person out to avoid getting personal. However, the person is apparently very fat and he blames capitalism day in and day out. The person even says that businessmen do nothing and it's the employers that do everything. Has that fat slob ever heard that businesses are run by bosses and that if the bosses do screw up, they're the ones who are the most answerable? The employees are the cogs and the boss runs the cogs. I was looking at...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog