Bakeshop bills itself as ‘first source’ of faves
In a saturated sector like bakeshops, one has to raise the bar in terms of product variety, quality and customer service to remain relevant in today’s demanding market.
Fountainhead, a 40-year-old bakeshop in Cebu, is trying to do exactly that. From a bakeshop it has expanded into a café, serving classic breads but also cakes, pastries and pasalubong or gift items.
Fountainhead opened last Friday its café in the Sea View Wing of SM Seaside City Cebu. It is the brand’s fourth café in Metro Cebu.
Erlinda Francisco, Fountainhead’s founder, said opening a concept store like this in malls is timely as more consumers are now eating out with their loved ones.
Fountainhead used to own 14 bakeshops with a flagship store on Manalili St. in Cebu City. The business went well for several years with Francisco single-hand- edly looking after it.
But when economic pressure settled in, the family decided to downsize and chose to focus more on distribution. Today, Fountainhead products can be found in over 80 supermarkets and stores all over Metro Cebu.
Francisco attributes her success in the bakeshop business to her love of baking. She started baking cakes when she was 22 years old and supplying cakes to the Tagalog Hotel, a business her in-laws owned.
Assistance, background
“My mother in-law saw my potential and encouraged me to bake cakes to sell through the hotel’s restaurant,” said Francisco. She admitted she didn’t have a mixer back then so she sought the help of some off-duty policemen who used to hang out in their place to help with the mixing, beating and other tasks involved in baking cakes.
Eventually, she and her hus- band, Regino, opened Linda Bakeshop, which later changed into Fountainhead as her late husband wanted an international-sounding name.
“We named it Fountainhead which means ‘primary source,’” said Francisco, adding that it was only later that they learned that fountainhead also means “Godhead.”
Armed with a degree in chemical engineering, Francisco found baking cakes, breads, and other pastries an easy task. Making her business sustainable was a challenge she relished.
“Because of my background, I can make my own formulation. I can make new products every day,” she said.
Inspired by their travels abroad, Francisco shared that it was her son, Rex, who suggested positioning Fountainhead as a Filipino bakeshop that sells Filipinos’ favorites like pandesal, bagumbayan, binangkal, and siakoy, among many others.
While every business is a product of hard work, delayed gratification, and team effort, Francisco says she owes her every success to God. “This is why I don’t fret about (market) competition, because I know who alone will sustain us. The Lord will sustain us. That’s why I am confident,” she said.