MANILA – The Bistro Group, known for bringing in global brands such as TGI Friday’s to the Philippines, wants a slice of Hukad’s pie.

Hukad, which originated in Cebu, recently opened its 43rd branch at Venice Piazza Mall in McKinley Hill, Taguig.

The new restaurant is co-owned by The Bistro Group, along with the branch of the American diner Denny’s located beside it.

“We’re very excited to work with The Bistro Group. We share the same passion, and we have the same commitment as a brand,” said Hukad’s Kenneth Kokseng, who noted that they added television sets inside the restaurant to be consistent with The Bistro Group’s other concepts.

“We’re looking at three other locations with The Bistro Group, and hopefully we can open within the year,” he added.

Hukad opened its first branch in 1982, and has been “an institution in Cebu for the longest time,” according to Kokseng.

They started expanding in 2000, opening in major cities in Visayas and Mindanao, and eventually in Manila. Aside from The Bistro Group, other smaller partners have bought franchises after seeing Hukad’s steady growth.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, The Bistro Group president and COO Jean Paul Manuud shared his thoughts about why they decided to include Hukad in their lineup of restaurants, as well as their company’s future plans.

ON WHY THEY DECIDED TO GET HUKAD

“We love this brand. I love how Hukad became successful. My first experience with Hukad was when we opened Friday’s in Davao and Ayala Cebu. I was looking at all the restaurants and I saw one that has a long queue. I asked myself, what is this? I got so interested.

“I fell in line and I was impressed with the kind of food that they have. I think it’s a very good addition to our brand portfolio. This is the brand that we think we can grow. When we talked to the owners, I find the values and the growth strategy aligned to us. We have a lot of global brands but at the same time, we are proud to be part of a regional Filipino brand. I look forward to duplicating their success in Metro Manila.

“Hukad is expandable. There are restaurants that cannot be everywhere, and I find Hukad as something that we can bring almost anywhere. It’s something that caters to a wide range of customers – I can put it in a mall, as a standalone, or a non-traditional location.”

ON THEIR GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN ACQUIRING BRANDS

“We always get a brand that somehow offers something different from the rest. Being a regional Filipino brand, Hukad is not the same compared to the other successful Filipino restaurants in Manila. I’m proud to have a dish like humba, it is something that is very popular in Cebu.

“Just like any other brand in our portfolio, we never looked for it. We have this philosophy in business that we only take brands that we personally like. That’s the first thing we do as part of our group strategy. All the brands that we take in, it should be something that we love.”

ON THEIR STRONGEST BRANDS

“From the standpoint of guest count and revenue, Friday’s is still the strongest. But we have to put it in the right context, Friday’s being here for the past 22 years and the number of stores they have. So if you look at the overall number of Friday’s, they are the strongest.

“All our restaurants are the fruit of Friday’s concept. We opened a lot of concepts basically because of how we started with Friday’s. Italianni’s is very steady, and very successful. The two brands combined make up about 85% of total output of the Bistro Group. The new brands under our portfolio, we still have to make them grow. The impact as a whole may not yet be that significant because these are new brands.”

ON HOW PINOY DINING HABITS HAVE CHANGED

“I guess the market as a whole, what I realized is they like value. They like to really extend the value of their money. They become so assertive of what they like to see in restaurants. They like very good experience. They like a place where they can relax and enjoy. But at the same time, they are conscious of how much they’re going to spend. There’s a balance there of how much value you can give and balancing it to how much they can afford to give.

“A lot of Filipinos are getting there. They are becoming knowledgeable, they improving a lot. In the past you won’t see a lot of people drinking coffee or wine unlike today. They become so global as far as their preferences are concerned.

“I guess you would agree with me that the competition is not getting any smaller. It keeps on expanding. The good thing is while the competition is getting bigger, the pie is getting bigger as well. I mean, I always say we don’t mind competition, we like where the competition is. We always believe that at the end of the day, if you have the right execution and right value for your brand, people will always go back to where they are comfortable, where they feel important.

“I like to be in the area where there’s a lot of competition. If there’s no competition, it means that area is dead. You don’t like to be there, either. We are proud of what we do but we’re always very observant.”

ON FUTURE PLANS

“We could open 10 to 12 stores [from our existing brands] in the year, still in Manila. Somehow, we have brands that resonate well in Metro Manila and perhaps not yet ready to be in the provinces.

“We have more surprises in the future, it’s just that I signed an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). But two to three more brands are coming this year. I can assure you, these are not competing brands. These will have a good synergy with our existing brands.”

ON TAX REFORMS, TRAIN

“I’m very positive about the TRAIN. One, I’m very happy seeing our people, our employees, with increased take home pay. I think that’s been due for a while. We like our managers and employees to receive additional income out of a new taxation. Eventually, this will go down to activities in the economy when they have more money to spend.

“I guess the second phase of this TRAIN will be lowering the corporate tax. And I think that is a very significant step to reinvest whatever gain you have as a company.”