MARIKINA’S ‘WAKNATOY’ GETS BOOST FROM INTERNET
For Marikina-based food entrepreneur Lai Labos, standing out in a city well-known for good food is a tall order. But for her catering and canteen concessionaire business Lai-Lyn’s, based in Sto. Niño barangay there, the ingredients for a successful business should be no secret.
“In the end, I believe we stand out because we offer quality food at affordable prices. We give what our clients deserve and what they paid for,” says Labos, who established Lai-Lyn’s in 2005. “I think we also stand out as a quality employer: We think of our employees’ welfare. It’s not just a matter of earning more.”
These days, however, there is an added ingredient: Internet-driven efficiencies. Apart from quality food and good relationship with the staff, Labos says the internet has greatly helped business flourish through the years.
“Times have changed a lot between the year we started out and today, and the internet has really changed the way people do business over the years,” says Labos, who runs the business from her Marikina home. “I usually work from home, where I answer e-mails and calls,” she adds.
“I often use my LTE connection at home to talk to my clients via Viber and e-mail,” says Labos, a Smart subscriber. “Sometimes, I even use my smartphone as a hotspot because it is better than my broadband connection from a different provider.”
“Many clients really prefer to transact with veteran companies like ours. With the internet, [it has gotten easy]. Before, they had to personally drop by our office. Now, we just chat on Viber, and that’s it.”
Labos adds the internet has made it even easier to work with clients overseas. “In some cases, it’s the [overseas Filipino worker] who pays for the event. So we communicate via e-mail, and then they send their deposit via online banking. I don’t even have to go to the bank to check if the deposit has arrived. I just have to go online.”
While the 13-year-old food company still offers catering services for events, focus has shifted to canteen concessionaire beginning 2014. “The in- come here is more stable. Events catering is a seasonal business,” she says.
Lai-Lyn serves bestsellers like roast beef, cordon bleu, morconitos, pastel de lengua and baked macaroni, as well as Marikina favorites like “waknatoy” ( a mix of menudo and caldereta) and “everlasting” (which she described as longlasting pork giniling). However, Labos says she still scours the internet for recipe inspiration.
“When you’re running a canteen concessionaire business, it is important to always have something new to offer,” she says.
Their most interesting recipe so far? “Our chicken in seafood sauce is perhaps our most interesting recipe. It’s based on the classic chicken ala king recipe, but instead of the plain white creamy sauce, we put bits of seafood instead. It’s my personal favorite.”
Labos says she turns to the internet to improve and innovate. “When you’re in catering, you have to keep having new ideas. You have to keep investing in them, and the internet is a great place for that. Through it, we can learn about the latest trends in styling and design set-ups, for example. Right now, we use Pinterest to research new designs for our catering services. We’re looking forward to using the internet more in terms of improving our service,” she says.
She’s also looking forward to using the internet in securing future canteens. “We plan to put CCTVs in our future canteens, and you need strong connectivity for that. I can even monitor them via my smartphone,” she says.
With Smart finishing network upgrades in Marikina City and rolling it out to more areas this year, more enterprises like Lai-Lyn’s can improve operations through better connectivity and mobile internet.
“We may be turning 13, but we still have a lot to learn,” says Labos. “My advice to those who are just starting: Start small and don’t rush. Slowly but surely, build your network and earn customer trust. Learn from problems encountered along the way and always work toward improving your service. And always go for quality over quantity,” she says.