Starting as a humble family diner in 1983, Chicken Deli has certainly outgrown its provincial boundaries in Bacolod City. Celebrating a renewed partnership with bottling firm, Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc., (PCPPI) the “Bidang Inasal ng Bacolod” restaurant will continue its aggressive expansion, serving their unique authentic chicken inasal partnered with Pepsi products across their channel of almost 50 stores nationwide.
“This is the collaboration of two very reliable brands with parallel missions and visions to reach,” said RC Ciocon Jr., director for the LC Group of Companies.
According to Ciocon, the partnership which started in 2014, came naturally as both companies shared common advocacies in excellent business practices and serving their communities. “Chicken Deli and PCPPI have similar Corporate Social Responsibility platforms sharing the same dedication to service and love for the environment,” he added.
Embarking on its 35th year in the food industry, Chicken Deli plans to expand its business to 150 to 200 stores in the next five years through business evolution, franchising, and strategic corporate partnership – all while maintaining the original chicken inasal recipe that made them famous.
“Back when Chicken Deli was set only in Bacolod, PCPPI’s Bacolod plant was exclusively distributing our products to their restaurants,” said PCPPI Senior General Manager Lyndon Cuadra. “Now with Chicken Deli’s nationwide presence and today’s partnership renewal, the company has become our modern trade partner and key account to be serviced by different plants across the country.”
Spicing up the food industry
Chicken Deli opened franchising opportunities to local entrepreneurs in 2011 and has since appealed to businessmen that in the seven years that followed, the number of franchises across the country more than tripled against its 12 company-owned stores.
In the beginning, its founder and the Ciocon family matriarch, Mamang, planned to settle Chicken Deli’s lone store solely in Bacolod to keep the authenticity of her signature heirloom recipe. With locals and tourists making a visit to the restaurant a habit, it eventually sought to expand the business by opening more stores in the Visayas region and seeking franchise partners.
Mamang opted to cook inasal through the long process of manually marinating the meat, then cooking it fresh as opposed to pre-cooking before storage followed by hasty preparation. Upholding integrity in their service as demonstrated by his grandmother, Ciocon underlined that it was this same quality they were looking for from franchisees.
“People often think as long as they have the money, they will be viable to franchise the business, but we are looking for partners who are deeply committed to and involved with their business on a daily or at least weekly basis,” he said.
A third-generation owner of the restaurant, Ciocon highlighted as well evolving the business while staying true to its roots as a primary focus in appealing to the bigger market they now have. Apart from opening franchising opportunities, Chicken Deli has structured operations through the support of their commissaries in Bacolod and Manila.
“We also invest in our people,” Ciocon said. “One of our challenges in the past was finding the right talent to employ, but we eventually built a system which preferred hiring fresh graduates and investing in their training through a comprehensive and continuous program throughout their employment.”
Also in the business of caring for their surrounding community, Chicken Deli expressed their anticipation of partnering with PCPPI for Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in the region and nationwide. Noting the bottling firm’s recent programs for environmental preservation like tree planting and estero clean-ups, as well as social drives such as feeding programs and gift giving for children during December, Ciocon is optimistic that the partnership will be able to achieve more than business prosperity.
“We officially welcome Pepsi as one of our valuable partners, and I am confident we will help each other thrive through a continued successful and mutually beneficial partnership.” (PR)
