Max’s Group: Local produce part of menu expansion

Max’s Group Inc. ( MGI), the country’s largest casual dining operator, is set to forge partnerships with local government units and farm associations to source ingredients locally to contribute to the local agriculture-tourism sector in the region.

“We know how much we buy every year and we already have the demand planned but it remains a challenge to supply all our restaurants,” MGI director Carolyn Salud said during the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Sustainable Farming and Tourism Conference in Baguio City.

MGI is set to forge partnerships with local government units (LGUs) and farm associations to source ingredients locally and provide a permanent market of high-quality yields being produced by partner communities.

The homegrown fastfood conglomerate buys 76 metric tons of vegetables every month for all its restaurants. More than 80 percent of its supply comes from the Cordilleras.

Local farmers and the Department of Tourism-CAR will begin to sit down with MGI to lay down the guidelines and parameters for the partnership contract.

“With the partnership. we can even make a roadmap over the next two or three years,” Salud said.

Apart from this, MGI will roll out the tinawon rice (Heirloom Rice) dishes that will feature the rice variety harvested by Benguet farmers and will be served in eight select Max’s restaurants in Northern Luzon namely SM Baguio, SM Rosales, Urdaneta, SM Tarlac, Luisita, La Union, SM Cabanatuan, and Cabanatuan, starting May.

The tinawon rice is the local rice variety in Banaue harvested only once a year and is double the price of the ordinary variety.

DOT-CAR director Marie Venus Tan said agri-tourism could become a major pillar in the overall economic growth of the region.

“What propels the north is agriculture and it’s just a matter of time. With the ASEAN integration, we have to step up our competitiveness. We have similar produce and we can actually integrate creative farming and our culture, that will be our strength,” she said.

Tan noted that the Banaue Rice Terraces, where approximately 500 hectares remain unplanted, is starting to deteriorate as local farmers have began moving to the cities.

“For them to live and stay there, they need to plant again and we need to create a demand where supply is needed,” she added.

Aside from agriculture, CAR is also trying to elevate the standards of weaving and wood carving in the region to become competitive in the international market.

MGI’s move is part of the company’s Corporate Sustainability, Synergies and Relationship (CSSR) program in a bid to strengthen the agriculture sector.

The company has a network of over 500 stores in the Philippines and more than 30 international stores in Canada, the US and Middle East. Its roster of restaurants include Max’s, Pancake House, Yellow Cab, Krispy Kreme, and Jamba Juice, among others.

– Louise Maureen Simeon