Craving a snack? Try some chicken popcorn

RECOGNIZING the Pinoy’s penchant for snacks, a pair of young entrepreneurs decided to cater to the demand with chicken popcorn and sides offering.

Side Chicks! — the brainchild of business partners Judy Ang, 27, and Nickee Sy, 30 — is a snack store which opened last year and is geared towards those who want to have a quick bite.

The store primarily offers chicken and chips, with options for fries and rice sides as well as a selection of powder flavors and glaze.

“Side Chicks! is a concept that offers chicken (popcorn) and chips. That is our main thing. But we also have chicken and fries and chicken and rice. Basically you can choose your sides, that is why we called the store Side Chicks!,” said Ms. Ang, who has an entrepreneurship degree from the University of Santo Tomas, in an interview.

The Side Chicks! co-owner went on to say that the store was inspired by what they had seen while travelling abroad, including places like Korea and Japan, where they saw how people there take their snacks.

They were also moved by their desire to offer an alternative to the typical snacks offered locally.

“We love to have snacks. I like to have snacks but sometimes I find the snacks here lacking. So to have more we added chicken. And who does not like chicken? Everybody loves chicken,” said Ms. Ang.

“What makes us different from the others is that we have options of powder flavors for the chicken and the sides,” she added.

Side Chicks! opened its first store at the food court of the Ayala Malls Cloverleaf mall in Balintawak, Quezon City, in the middle of 2018. Last month it opened its second store at the 4th floor of the Midtown wing of Robinsons Place Manila, fronting the cinemas.

On offer are five selections that go in regular and large sizes, with prices ranging from P69 to P149. Those who do not want any meat can choose to have either chips or fries alone. There are also chicks and fries, chicks and rice, and chicks and chips options.

Flavor powders available are cheddar cheese, barbecue, and sour cream, while the glaze options are soy garlic glaze, Korean barbecue, spicy butter, and teriyaki glaze.

The items can also be bought in combination with drinks.

Ms. Ang said since opening shop last year, Side Chicks!, which also does catering, has steadily been picking up business and has drawn positive responses from its customers, so much so that they are planning to open a third store in SM Pampanga before the end of the year.

And if it continues to do well, Ms. Ang said they are going to open Side Chicks! for franchising.

To know more about Side Chicks!, follow it on Facebook at https://www.facebook. com/sidechicksph/ and on Instagram @sideschicksph. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo