Fishing for success
KENBERT C. Chua’s flair for fishkeeping has enabled him to reap grand champion titles in international betta fish competitions. As he now ventures into his own business, this same passion for fish is what he hopes to share with his customers, and clearly a little bit more than that.
In an interview with BusinessWorld, Mr. Chua shared how he and his wife, Karen, initially thought of opening a high-end pet shop. They deemed, however, that it would be better to offer something unique, to combine a fish store with a coffee shop. The result is the concept café aptly called Café Aquatica.
“We realized that in a family of five, for instance, it is possible that not all of them are into fish. So those who are can take a look at our fishes, while the others can chill in our coffee shop. Instead of going to separate locations inside the mall, all of them can come together to Café Aquatica,” he said.
Café Aquatica showcases and sells nature-inspired aquariums that have innovative features like the fog-releasing mechanism and the so-called underwater waterfalls, which Mr. Chua claims to be the first of its kind in the country.
Some of these specialty aquariums, which are designed and handcrafted by him and his good friend, Jet Umali, imitate scenes from films like Avatar and Wrong Turn; others are fittingly named Four-Way Waterfalls, Rocky Mountain, Back- to- Back Twin Tower, Floating Island, and Rainforest.
They house fishes like the Albino Metallic Angelfish, Mickey Mouse Platys, Cardinal Tetras, and Rummy- Nose Tetras, all of which are from Mr. Chua’s personal collection.
“They are for viewing purposes only,” he quipped, noting that buyers can get their custom aquariums with fishes of their choice for free, though it still depends on their availability in the local market.
Mr. Chua takes pride that Café Aquatica also sells the Premium Dragon Betta, his own line of hybrid and award-winning Aro-bettas. Aro-bettas are a breed that is a cross between the arowana and betta, and are produced through artificial insemination. Each aro-betta is distinct and comes with a certificate of authenticity with a printed barcode for identification.
“Aro- bettas can be considered charmed because, as per Chinese belief, any fish that has dragon scale brings good luck and success,” Mr. Chua explained. He added that they complement Café Aquatica’s aquariums with underwater waterfalls as moving water is an essential element of feng shui.
“I only sell bettas and aro-bettas because they are my expertise,” he said. Mr. Chua is a 26-time betta grand champion with winnings achieved in several countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Germany, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Croatia. He is eyeing to go to Japan and China and other countries where he has not competed yet next year.
He said that Café Aquatica aims to be a go-to place where people can enjoy good
food and relaxing ambiance. “That is why we came up with these kinds of aquariums. We hope people from the metro, even for at least an hour, can get to relax with nature in our café.”
Even as Café Aquatica has just been half a year into business — with the first branch opened last May at Promenade Mall in Greenhills, San Juan and the second in Binondo, Manila last month, Mr. Chua said that he plans to further expand to other areas like Makati City and Libis, Quezon City hopefully in the near future. He added that a Café Aquatica branch in Europe may also be possible by end of 2017.
To young, aspiring entrepreneurs, his advice is to always dream big and to not be disheartened when faced with hurdles. “Many people, including my own father, did not agree with my entrepreneurial vision at first. It was just my wife who strongly supported me then, and she is still my no. 1 supporter. But, now, I can see that my father is beginning to appreciate what I am doing with my business.”