Head above water with franchising success
The country’s first seafood fastfood chain rewards franchisees with ROI in three months’ time
WHO won’t be attracted to a business that promises to bring back your investment in just three months or at least less than the regular six months’ time projection?
Seafood stop Above Sea Level only needs to reveal one statistic showcase to prove it is not exaggerating: 105 franchisees in one year.
The chain’s franchised outlets began sprouting out June last year or merely six months since the owners started the food place that boasts itself as being “home of the giant butterfly squid.”
Franchising manager Mark Vidal provided some science as to why its seafood houses and stalls had spread like wildfire.
He explained, “We provide our franchisees with a black and white presentation of our products, meaning we have a feasibility study based on the performance of a particular stall. By that we are able to show that they can really get their ROI (return of investment) in three months or less than six months.”
Distributed in strategic spots all over Luzon, one-third of the franchisees are actual restaurants, while the rest are kiosks which obviously are cheaper and easier to put up.
By argument a less-typical success story, Above Sea Level started as a kiosk in a food park at the The Yard, Pasig. Its offering of squid- on-stick designed in the form of a butterfly became an instant hit. At present it serves five key variants including firecracker shrimp, seafood festival, and of course, the giant butterfly squid.
“We have a good relationship with our suppliers from provinces like Bohol and Bulacan. So that keeps our price range competitive to the point that we are planning to serve budget meals for students,” Vidal further shared, “Above Sea Level wants to take seafood to the next level which is short of saying we offer affordable, delicious, and wellpresented seafood.”
President and CEO Polsan Pangindian takes pride in being a millennial who makes proper decisions when it comes to investing and marketing. In fact, early retirement funds from call center work were used to kick off the seafood stall. The same photo displayed on the menu have reportedly earned 250 thousand Facebook likes over just a week — a case in point on the giant squid look being “Instagrammable.”
There are seven owned Above Sea Level branches, including one in Maginhawa St. in Teachers Village, Quezon City. The outlet opens at 4 pm and operates till 2 am as it is allowed to serve liquors.
Initially targeting millennials, the seafood fastfood, which has outlets in various popular malls, has turned out to be a favorite dining place even among yuppies and good- oldies, and especially families.
Vidal added, “We are venturing in Visayas and Mindanao as we have been studying their municipal maps to ensure we are placing our stalls and restaurants at the right places. The 50plus franchisees rate is really high by standard and we are keeping our hopes high that it will continue to open more outlets for our brand. We are happy to say that we are not a fad and we will keep our feet on the ground in spite of our relatively quick success.”
With all matters mentioned put in consideration, it seems that Above Sea Level is not hitting rock bottom anytime soon.