Braving the challenging coffee shop industry
IN Davao City, a number of coffee shops catering to different types of people had been put up. This is the current “tambayan” or a chill out place for millenials or those belonging to the younger generation. Some go to coffeeshop to meet and chat with friends, others to study, and while some would really want to spend time with themselves and let the time pass refreshed with the available beverages.
Going into a business that a lot of people had already ventured in is quite challenging but will entail a lot of different learning that are crucial for the business and the entrepreneur’s growth. This is what Ailea Orpiano realized when she decided to franchise a branch of Beanleaf Coffeeshop – its first and only branch in Davao City.
Ailea, who was originally from Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, was a Nursing graduate from Brokenshire College in Davao City. After graduation she spent almost a year working for a government agency in Koronadal City. Being the only child, her mother urged her to come back to Davao City and help her manage their existing boutique business in Gaisano Mall.
At first, she was hesitant to leave a stable job as the pay was apparent good. But being a good daughter that she is, decided to obey her mother and for more than a year she managed Dress Code in Gmall. With her experience, she wanted to also have her own business that she would manage on her own. That was when she decided to search the Internet for possible coffee shop that she can franchise.
“When I started this, I really searched for a business that will be good for franchise here in Davao City. I discovered in the internet Beanleaf Coffeeshop is already complete. We have frappe, milk tea, fruit tea, and snacks. Our foreign customers are fond of sausages with mushrooms and potato. We also have sandwiches, rice meals, and pasta. We are like a one-stop shop because we already have everything,” Ailea said during one of her earlier interviews.
For a while, her Beanleaf Coffeeshop business was located at The Peak of Gaisano Mall. However, she found the perfect location in a then-newly constructed building along Torres St.
“I learned that for coffee shop businesses the location is really very important. We were the first occupant of this building and the owner was very kind to have us open our neighboring units when they were still vacant so we can temporarily use it,”Ailea shared.
She also realized that it was a good thing that even though coffee shops are already all over Davao City, hers is the first and only branch in the city that offer unique meals and drinks that are not available in any other coffee shops. JPA (For full story visit www. sunstar.com.ph/davao/)