Champorado has always been one of the Filipinos’ favorite comfort foods, but have you tried ube champorado? This small business in Caloocan always drew a flock of customers for their delicious ube champorado, their bestseller.
In a vlog posted on YouTube by food content creator Manuel Olazo, he learned the secret to how this small business got started and became successful. In Caloocan, you’ll find a popular snack place named “Angelique and John Merienda,” where they serve a variety of snacks, including maja blanca, palabok, and their bestselling champorado which has 2 flavors: ube and Hershey’s chocolate. They also have ginataang mais and creamy sopas.
According to Angelique, they were already selling snacks prior to the pandemic. But their business really took off during the pandemic when they started posting on Facebook groups. She explained that they used to be a regular small snack shop and even had many competitors who were doing much better than them. Since they became viral online, they have drawn crowds and can finish at least 3 huge pots of champorado every day.
Angelique said they have been running their business for 4 years already. When Manuel, the vlogger, asked them why they chose to offer champorado, the business owner said it was all about choosing a simple product and turning it into something very good. This advice really holds true, as Maricar Reyes also gave the same advice to those planning to start a food business. She advised choosing a simple recipe and turning it into something better as your signature product.
Angelique recalled, “Noon una nagme-merienda na po kami kaso ‘di po ako pinapansin. May kalaban ako, siya po talaga yung mabili, ako talaga ‘di pinapansin. Pero simula noong natikman nila ang tinda namin, ‘yun marami ng bumabalik,” she added. [We have been selling snacks before, but we were always ignored. I had a competitor, she was the popular one, while I was ignored. But since the people got a taste of our foods, they now keep on coming back.]
Managing a snack business is no simple task. Indeed, running a snack business can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it is also a lot of hard work. Angelique said they began preparing and cooking at 5:00 a.m. and spent the entire morning cooking. They usually begin serving around 2:00 p.m. because customers begin lining up as early as 12 noon.
You’d be surprised to see such a long line of customers waiting for their serving of the delectable champorado. One customer said he was in line starting at 2:00 p.m. and was served by around 4:00 p.m., but it was worth the wait, she said.
Managing a snack business requires careful planning and attention to detail in order to succeed. Aside from your hard work, you need to ensure that your product is the best among your competitors. So, if you’re planning to start one, have faith and good luck!
You can watch the video on Manuel Olazo’s Youtube channel:
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