The Bubblicitea staff with the owners, Chef JP (wearing a hat) and Ms. Annie (wearing a gray sleeved-dress) at their new branch at De La Salle Araneta University, Malabon City.
On opening day, faculty members, students from DLSAU and other invited guests of the family enjoyed their time in the cozy place. They tried out the great eats prepared by Executive Chef JP and Sous Chef Pau, and the premium selection of milk tea and fruit tea.
“Now, Bubblicitea Café looks forward to having more branches as they open their business for franchising. With this vision coming into place, Bubblicitea promises their customers and patrons to expect more variety and new food offerings that they and their family and friends would surely love and come back too. Before having Bubblicitea, Annie Furukawa is a former Human Resource Officer and Finance Manager of a certain Japanese Corporation and worked as Freelance Bookkeeper in the United States. Then, their family decided to put-up their own food business to maximize their skills and strengths. “It was really my father's demise that strongly influenced us to start a business. He really wanted us to stay together for good here in The Philippines,” she added.
1,2 and more! Photos of the two Bubblicitea branches. Main(left) and DLSAU branch (right).
Many concepts came into their minds, but Annie decided to have a milk tea bar because it is predominantly popular among Filipinos. However, they didn’t want to limit their offerings to milk tea alone and desire to serve other comfort foods. And since they grew up in a family that’s very particular with freshness and taste, they only cook the food once they get orders. Annie learned essential kitchen management practices while operating their business. According to her, the secret to success is proper organization, which includes good set-up, artistic interior design and good maintenance. She advised that extensive trainings to people should be done also. In addition, good communication skill is very vital in food business. She emphasized that everyone should learn to properly communicate with people since selling is their top priority. She considers Breville kitchen appliances as their powerful culinary partner. “Breville really helped us so much in addressing the demands of our food business by making our work easier and productive. Less manpower is needed because Breville innovations can do so much more,” she said with a smile. When asked how she discovered Breville kitchen appliances, Annie recounted that Breville is always present in every kitchen of culinary enthusiasts in the United States. Her boss brought her 5-year old Breville Kinetix Blender from London and told Annie how efficient it was. Annie is very happy with her Breville appliances. According to her, it helps her save space in the kitchen and likes its multi-functionality. “It's classy and easy to use, easy to clean. It helps get the job done easily. We can accommodate lots of orders with less kitchen staff,” she added. Keeping costumers has always been the priority of every food establishment. And Bubblicitea’s secret to that is their constant innovation when it comes to milk tea flavors. “Our menu called Chef Specials also keeps our customers coming back,” Annie said.
DELICIOUS! Some tempting Chef Specials (left) must be paired with various flavors of milk tea (right).
Bubblicitea also sells coffee and veggie concoctions and some of their successful events were the “Veggie Juicing Promotion” and “Juicing Workshops”. Their big break started after promoting Joe Cross’ “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” documentary film in their shop for a month and launched "Healthy Selfie" and “Ready, Set, and Juice!” activities. These activities attracted people to eat healthy foods. Success is never too far for Bubblicitea. Their unique menu offerings established strong brand recall. And as Chef JP introduced his special pizza, Bubblicitea became more popular. For beginners, Annie’s advise is to have family members as key persons. They might have different views, but in the end, what’s best for the business is still everyone’s concern. “Sometimes, personal differences get in the way but for SMEs, it's a great way to start mainly because everyone shares the same intention.” Bubblicitea targets to open a new branch next year. Annie is hopeful that for the next three years, she will celebrate with her successful and satisfied franchisees. For now, she is focusing on creating new promos, new recipes and new drink concoctions, considering these as effective marketing strategies in keeping their costumers.
Some photos taken during the “Healthy Selfie” ,“Ready, Set Juice” (left) and the “Merry Jaffles and More” (right) activities of Bubblicitea.
“Some photos taken during the “Healthy Selfie” ,“Ready, Set Juice” (left) and the “Merry Jaffles and More” (right) activities of Bubblicitea. Technology is very vital in our kitchen,” Annie said. She shared that the Kitchen Wizz™ Pro cuts hours of preparation in the kitchen to more than 90%. They could serve great pizzas with the BBQ Grill™ and the Smart Oven™ without spending for a massive, spacious oven that's literally stressful and difficult to clean. Also, they can serve 20 coffee concoctions and frappe with the Breville Barista Express™ side by side with the Breville Die Cast Blender™. Aside from that, they can also sell veggie juice and sorbet using Breville juicers. Breville plays a vital role in Bubblicitea’s success. With its smart kitchen innovations, more people will surely experience great transformation in their food businesses.
Bubblicitea Café Main branch is located at 201 Gen. Luna St. Brgy. Ibaba, Malabon City. Like and follow them on Facebook and Twitter, keyword: Bubblicitea Caféis located at 201 Gen. Luna St. Brgy. Ibaba, Malabon City. Like and follow them on Facebook and Twitter, keyword: Bubblicitea Café.