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

External Validations, like Masters and Doctorate, Mean NOTHING with a LOUSY Education System

I have the tendency to use my MBA as a license to avoid criticism. It's a real problem that some people use their credentials and/or academic achievements to try and win an argument. One incident I wrote about was Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel flexing his "smarts" by using his cum laude degree to win the argument . It was all about how I would often say, "You're the moron because I have the MBA and you don't." There are times I felt like taking an MBA would make up for my "moral shortcomings" during high school when I was barely passing (and the passing rate was 80% , which is rather high), that I wasn't having honors, and that there was this saying, " Thou grades shalt determine thy future! " That, of course, has led to the reality where cheating is prevalent . I wanted to make a review. I took my MBA in 2011 and graduated in 2014. I always felt that the MBA program was what I needed to become "invincible". It was also at ...

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...

Four Basic Chinese Conversational Questions, Grade 1 Style

I could remember how useless the Chinese classes were, not because Chinese is a useless language (there are actually over a billion speakers worldwide), not because the Chinese teachers were stereotypically very strict (Grade 2 was strict, Grade 3 was even stricter than Grade 2, Grade 6 was said to be the strictest ), but because of the way Chinese was to be taught. That's why I got encouraged to write about learning Chinese through meaningful conversations, not parroting . Fortunately, those old Sinjiang textbooks are no longer available except for museum purposes (read here ). Just looking at this question and answer sweet from Ling Ling Mandarin's Instagram account--I remember what my Grade 4 Chinese teacher said, "If you want only one bon toi (question and answer), go back to Grade 1. But I don't think Grade 1 only has one bon toi." The problem with the old class was that we had to learn Hokkien before learning Mandarin. I confess my Hokkien is really bad. Th...

How a Fitness App and Fitness Band Made Me Go from Sedentary to Active Lifestyle

Back in high school and after college, I had a sedentary lifestyle. I would play countless hours of video games and watch TV almost non-stop. Exercise tends to sound so complicated. Fortunately, it doesn't have to sound very complicated since exercise shouldn't always sound like being athletic. The moment I got a Xiaomi MiBand--I soon installed Google Fit aside from the official Xiaomi app (which gets really buggy) and the Notify for MiBand app. I started off rather fat in 2013 and I'm happy to say I've lost a lot of weight. A fitness band would be used to count steps. At first, I aimed for 6,000 steps a day but I wanted to beat that record. 6,000 steps was my bare minimum . There were times when an exercise would barely give me the steps I wanted. I could do some cardio boxing, feel very tired, and still not get the steps I wanted. Fortunately, fitness devices can be used in workout mode. With my MiBand, one of the things I did was to set it up to workout mode. I could...

A Careless Noche Buena as the Red Death to One's Holiday Finances

It's the first day of December. Right now, I don't even feel like celebrating Christmas. Cebu is still in a state of calamity overall. I don't even look forward to Christmas parties. I'm glad some churches have canceled Christmas parties, to divert the fundraising (such as paying PHP 500.00 per head or family) to convert them into relief goods purchases instead. However, some people can have a callous mentality that's akin to the Masque of the Red Death . Boomers may have tried seeing the film Masque of the Red Death starring the late Vincent Price. The story of the Masque of the Red Death had Prospero trying to deny the terrible plague called the Red Death, choosing to hold a lavish feast instead of helping his citizens! Lessandra The typical Noche Buena can be high in cholesterol and the like. As I thought of DTI Secretary Christina Roque's rather tactless (but probably badly needed) statement that PHP 500.00 is enough for a Noche Buena of a family of four. T...

Can Hilario G. Davide Jr. Provide Empirical Evidence in His Warning Against Changing Economic Provisions?

I noticed that Facebook users have given Hilario G. Davide Jr. the nickname Hilarious. The 88-year-old guy has grown old but has been opposing the badly needed economic amendments. He was already known to have said during former president, Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte, that there's absolutely no need to amend it, because it's the best constitution in the world, it's the only constitution that's supposedly this and that. I want to say, "What?!" to that. It's because he spoke like he already read every last constitution in the world. Did he read the American Constitution? Did he read every constitution in ASEAN for a start? Did he read the Singaporean constitution? As a former UN diplomat, it's amazing Davide Jr. said what he said! Examining Davide Jr.'s latest warning today No different than what Davide Jr. said last 2018 , it's really no surprise that he's quoted by pages like La Verite, Lupang Hinirang (full FB title is too long), Silent No M...

Schools Need to Learn to Stop Giving Too Much Homework

I think one of the things I want to write about education right now is the problem of too much homework . It almost didn't matter which school you went to in the Philippines or in some area--there's hardly a policy that discourages the regulation of homework. I'm not saying that homework should be abolished altogether compared to class ranking. I still think that regulated homework is the key. The benefits of homework are told by the Global Indian International School from Singapore: What is the Purpose of Homework? Homework is an essential part of every student's education. The purpose of homework for students is to practice what they have learned in class . It also gives students an opportunity to practice time management skills . Homework can also help build character by teaching children how to cope with frustration and how to manage their stress levels when they encounter difficulties or setbacks . Homework is a part of the school day, but it's also a huge p...

Why I Think the Old Sinjiang Textbooks Were Written The Way They Were (and Why They're NOT Ideal for Contemporary Chinese Education)

The Chinese New Year's first day is over but for China, it's until Day 15. I feel like visiting a childhood trauma (which I laugh at now while remembering all the failing marks I had) because the whole program was based on parroting over understanding (read here ). I even wrote about how the old Chinese textbooks can't be used for teaching Mandarin . Good thing that these dreaded textbooks are now out of print . My memories are Grade 2 Chinese was strict and Grade 3 Chinese was even stricter . The Grade 3 Chinese teacher got the nickname of either Teacher Turtle or Teacher Fierce . Grade 4 Chinese teacher was also called Teacher Minus because she often said in Hokkien, "I will minus!" That threat came every time the class would misbehave. If I'm not wrong, I tried getting a minus 20 (for always talking) which caused me to fail another quiz. Some people would move out of a Chinese school when their child fails either Grade 2 or Grade 3. In our case, Grade 3...

Meet Topokkiman--Cebu's Superhero for Korean Food Cravings

ZeroThreeTwo Years ago, I remembered the Dakimong restaurant which had branches in JY Square Mall, M.C. Cuenco (where Bollywood Tandoor is currently renting), and SM Consolacion. The closing down of Dakimong was probably one of the saddest moments in my food-tripping life. Fortunately, a new "superhero" known as Topokkiman (hence the logo) has arrived in Dona Rita Village and later in Ayala Central Bloc. I haven't eaten (yet) in the Talamban Branch but looking at the pictures--I might dine-in there one of these days. Though, I've ordered their food a few times from Food Panda and Grab. Delicious food should never always be associated with expensive food. Instead, it should be associated with food well-prepared whether it's casual dining or fine dining. Topokkiman proves that with its casual Korean foods. The main attraction is topokki hence the name. However, what I usually order at Topokkiman is their really delicious kimbap which comes in different flavors. I w...

I Could've Easily Fallen for Cryptocurrency Myself

Casino.org I was looking for a new topic to write about. Apparently, my post on Robin Padilla who I didn't vote for but now agree upon (read here ) is catching wind on Facebook . However, I didn't want to resist writing about the cryptocurrency hype. I recall some of my biggest mistakes aside from letting a family friend buy in huge credit or taking offers without asking. Another thing that I could've gotten into is cryptocurrency . The reason is I've been into hype-riding, praise addiction, or afraid of being left out. It didn't matter how much theoretical information I learned if my temperament is bad. As Warren Edward Buffet said the following: The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd. The issue is people tend to take pleasure in going against the crowd or for the crowd. I've experienced both of them and who hasn't?...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog