The Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) even said that thier members have increase to 130 from 75 members in the first half of this year. And its members have expanded their outlets for more than a 5,000 outlets and it also created a more or less 30,000 jobs.

The main reason why the franchising in the Philippines is so strong today is because many filipino can afford to franchise even if you only have a not so big capital just to make sure that you have the right know-how because sustaining a business is not so easy at the start.

Some of the franchising corp. is targeting not only the Philipine market but also the asia and Us market as well.

The Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) also said that even small business has now getting bigger and expanding thier outlets. So that is a good sign that anyone can be sucessful in this industry just make sure that the one your entering in is a legitimate one.

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Admitting in public that you have been scammed is not easy. Often people would rather not talk about it. They don’t want to admit that their being gullible has made them lose not only their money by their self respect as well. This is one of the reasons why we seldom hear about a franchise scam. We usually hear about its success but the scam part of the story doesn’t usually get enough media attention.

Franchisees should be discern and be cautious enough in looking out for fraud franchises This is what would only protect them from falling into a franchise scam. Below are some pieces of advice to help those who would want to buy franchises whether to sign the contract or just courteously turn it down.

Looking before Leaping

There are usually two reason why the franchise scam have been successful in deceiving people who want to acquire a franchise of a business, this is according to the chairperson of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) Ma. Alegria Sibal-Limjoco. First is the insufficient knowledge and details on the franchising business. And, the attraction to the small capital that a franchise scam is offering.

Sibal- Limjoco said that a business cannot really franchise itself rightfully unless it has proven its success. She warned the public not to be attracted to businesses offering P10, 000 to P20, 000 for not all businesses requiring such small amount are genuine.

Rudolf Kotik, a franchise consultant shared that franchises as low as P10, 000 are usually just down payments for the business. And you will only discover this once you have already engaged in the franchise contract. He also warned the public not to easily engaged to franchises with higher capital neither. He gave an example of a Halo-halo franchise amounting to P330, 000 where the alleged halo- halo franchisee simply disappeared with his halo-halo cart once the payment was made.

Doing Background Checks

Kotif said that in order to avoiding being scammed in franchising, one must ensure that the franchiser is real and legitimate. A legitimate franchiser must be affiliated with any of the three franchisees associations in the Philippines. You can have the franchiser verified first in the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI), the Filipino International Franchise Association (FIFA), and/or the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA).

According the president of BMG Franchise Developers, Inc., Butz Bartolome, a franchise scam won’t identify who the owner of the franchise is. Instead they will just share telltale stories to attract the franchisees. The agent of the franchise would convince the franchisee that the franchise is very affordable, that return of investment will happen in a short time, and that it can lead you in becoming a millionaire and can stop working. These are the three tale tell signs that would indicate that a franchise is a scam.
In an explanation given by Bartolome, he said that the franchisee and the franchiser should have the franchise agreement which will define the relationship of the two parties. This agreement is usually 35- 45 pages depending on the agreement and cannot be defined in a three page franchise agreement which the franchise scams usually ask their prospected victim to sign. He said that because it is the experience of the franchiser and the franchised product that you are buying, it may cost you a little bit, at least P150, 000. Bartolome recommended doing the following to avoid scams:
• Evaluation of the business franchise
• Checking how long the product can last
• Assessment of its competitiveness with other products
• Determine its profitability
• Determine what is the business model
• Determine the total investment needed
• Identify support programs

A retiree from a paper manufacturing company, Mercedes “Chedeng” Anglo, who once was victimized by franchise scams said that people should not only think of the way to earn money fast rather they should pay attention to the details of the business. She added that to be sure that it is not a scam; payment of the franchised business should be done in the franchiser’s office not just anywhere.

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In order to make a pork tocino, you will need to have its main ingredient which is the meat. It would be better to use any of the following parts of meat: Kasim or pork pigue (lean pork). You can use it with or without skin, depending on your preference. Have the bone removed and slice it to ¼ inch thick. Here are the things you need to on the steps you need to take on how to make tocino:

Prepare the following Ingredients:
• 5-8 tbsp- sugar
• 1 tbsp- gin or rhum
• 2 tbsp- salt
• ½ tablet- ascorbic acid
• ¼- ½ tsp- Prague powder( also called curing salt, insta cure or modern cure)
• 1 tsp- monosodium glutamate(MSG/ vetsin)- this is optional

After preparing the ingredients, make sure that the following equipments are available:
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Weighing scale
• Measuring spoon
• Mixing bowl

You will also need packaging materials
• 6’’ x 12’’ Polyethylene bags( thermoplastic),with 0.003 thickness
• Rectangular Styrofoam with cling on top

Now you are ready to make Tocino.

• Cut the meat into ¼ inch thick (0.63 cm)
• Put all the ingredients together for curing
• Mix it to allow even distribution while rubbing both sides of slices
• Rearrange the slices then cover the bowl
• Allow the slices to cure
12 hours- at room temp
3 days- in the refrigerator

Note: To prolong shelf life, you may dry the slices under the sun after curing.

Home Recipe of Tocino

Ingredients:

• Meat cut into ¼ inch thick- 2lbs ( you can use pork chops or red loin with fats)
• Annatto (atsuete) water- 2 tbsp
• Anise wine- 2 tbsp
• Salt- 2 tbsp
• Sugar- 4 tbsp
• Salitre (saltpeter)- 1/8 tsp
• Cooking oil- 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Except for the pork, mix all the ingredients in a shallow pan
• Then, pour the mixture onto the pork. Ensure that it is evenly distributed.
• Stack the pork inside the container then cover it. To allow curing, place it inside the refrigerator for about 3 days.
• When cooking, place the pork in a frying pan and add a little water, then fry.

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1. Know your Business.

First things first, you have to be knowledgeable about the type of franchise business in the Philippines you are engaging yourself with. Do researches and familiarize yourself in the do’s and don’ts of doing franchising. You have to familiarize yourself with the terminologies relating to your business, so as you will not have a hard time transacting with other business partners.
2. Know you product.

Think of the best product that catches your interests the most. Something that you usually use and is not only appealing to you but also appealing to a large number of people. It is better to market something that you have tried, tested and learned to like.

3. Know you customers or clients.

Decide for your target market, will it be the kids, teenagers or adults? It is imperative to know your target market so it will be easy for you to address their concerns and to provide them the product that will suite them.

4. Know your location.

Location! Location! Location! You have to think about the place where you will be placing your business. If the same franchise is already present in one place, you have two choices: either to (1) transfer to another place or (2) compete with it. You also have to think that your location will define the product that you will be selling, if for example, you will be franchising Mcdonald’s, you can’t place Mcdonald’s in a place where people are so conservative and health conscious that only eat home-cooked meals.

5. Know the demand.

This is somehow connected with Knowing your location. You have to do searches about the people living in the place that you plan to build your business. Know what they eat and know what they already have, in learning about these things, you will be able to know if there will be a continuous demand for your product.

6. Know all the necessary costs.

You have to take into account the cost that you will be encountering in building your business. You have to remember that, you should be able to bring back what you have incurred in the past, so you’ll gain profit. Some of the costs are: Starting Capital, Production Cost, Marginal Cost and Employment Cost.

7. Know your capacity.

You should have the skills, belief, enthusiasm and positive attitude.

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Consulting firms continue to fine-tune the craft of cloning modest-sized Filipino enterprises into successful multiple-outlet franchised operations. They ease startup or expansion pains of both franchisor and franchisee.

RK franchise owned and managed by Rudolf Kotik and Margarita Nacua guided over 300 companies in their path to franchising. Their common clients include food carts to call center operations.

Rudolf, an Austrian who had worked for European franchise divisions made his firt home in Cebu, where he brought in foreign brands for local businessmen interested in franchising.

He then focused on the local brands when the peso weakened and set up RK franchise by the year 1995. After coaching several of the island-based businesses in developing their own franchising manuals and operating systems, he moved his office to Manila and by his time, he had already set up 20 franchise systems.

Cheap but healthy foods plus attractive packaging is the reason why Rudolf’s business is popular and continues to patronage by the Filipinos.

Kuya Chito’s Takuyaki, a food cart outlet selling Japanese snacks is one of the RK Franchise success stories. Edgino Bogayong decided to franchise Takuyaki in 2005 and is quite happy supervising and operating seven carts in strategic malls in General Santos City.

According to Rudolf, other nonfood businesses have started to pick up the franchising idea. He is interested to franchise for jewelry stores, business processing centers, gasoline stations and hotels but the franchise fees starts at a couple of million pesos, so the number of interested applicants of franchisees is fewer than those who are in food franchise.

One of the main concerns of RK Franchise is to make a decent profit for both the franchisor and franchisee. “RK Franchise goal has always been to help professionalize franchisors, while at the same time, develop our franchisees to be professionals.”

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Pangasinan is the bangus capital of the Philippines, because the province has an abundant supply of milkfish, that is why it is their main product. And being their main product, every year they hold a bangus festival where they honor their main source of livelihood.

Part of this celebration is the parading of different ways of preparing and cooking of the bangus. And competitions are even held to come up with the most unique bangus dish that the Pangasinense can think of, Bangus sisig, Bangus skin chicharon and more.

In spite of the different bangus dish and preparations that they came up with, they always end up with the fish bones that would just go to waste. But that was before research was made to make use of this by-product, and what a discovery that they made.

Thanks to the research, now, nothing in our national fish bangus goes to waste. Because after the fish has been deboned, instead of throwing away the bones that were gathered, they were developed and are now used in making a healthy calcium-enriched polvoron.

What used to be a problem in Pangasinan, which is the disposal of the fish bones and spines has created an exciting new product for them, and that is by turning these wastes into bangus polvoron. And this polvoron is said to help fight osteoporosis because it is enriched in with calcium.

Turning the fish bones into polvoron is quite easy. The collected bangus fish bones are first softened by cooking them in pressure cookers, after which they are chopped, pounded and minced until they turn into powder. This is then mixed with the ingredients in making the healthy polvoron.

The bangus polvoron just goes to show how resourceful and ingenious Filipino can be, as they develop products from what is already considered a waste.

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Within foods, it is important to recognise the wide diversity in branding practice. On the one hand some of the world’s most valuable brands are from food companies as are some of the most trusted brands worldwide. For example, brands like Coca Cola and McDonald’s feature in the Top 10 of the world’s most valuable brands and brands like Coca Cola and Spa are identified as the most trusted brands in several countries.

On the other hand, within the food category a substantial part of the fresh produce is still sold as generic products without any branding or at best under the implicit `brand’ of the retailer that sells it. Increasingly also, within foods and other fast moving consumer goods there has been a rise of store brands in recent years, and national manufacturer brands have lost market share to retailer brands.

More often than not both branded, private labels and generic food products are sold through the same retail outlet. The resulting competition between brands, private labels and generic products within one and the same supermarket has not yet been studied in the literature. There seems to be a persistent belief that branding is not feasible for fresh produce. For example, Riezebos (1994) claims that to some product categories, like fresh vegetables and potatoes, branding may be less applicable. Opposed to this, the Chiquita brand shows that fresh fruits are also differentiable.

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A P10,000 loan from a ‘Bumbay’ is what Geronimo and Beth Casas used to start their foodcart fabrication business, with the money they bought their first welding machine . Another P14,000 proceeds from pawning an old car was used to buy supplies. By religiously setting aside P100 a day for payment of the unsecured loan and saving every earning they can get out from their fabrication orders, they were out of debt in less than a year, with lots of promise on their business.

Both senior civil engineering student when they got married, Beth and Geronimo are not really new in the food fad and in the fabrication business. Beth’s family has been baking and selling and ‘hot pandesal’ when she was still young, as her father’s business was fabricating ovens for those who want to sell pandesal.

That is why when they got married and stayed with Beth’s family, they helped in the family business in every way they can. This provided enough exposure for Geronimo which proved to be useful when they decided to start their own business.

A prospective client approached them in 1998 and asked them if they can fabricate a shawarma rotisserie. Geronimo studied and pried on the imported model that was already operating in one of the malls. Beth, all while was seated in a nearby corner, drawing the machine and its various features. When they got home, the husband and wife team combined their observations and fabricated their first shawarma rotisserie. In less than a month, it was already operational, and soon orders flowed in.

Customers’ loyalty however wouldn’t be achieved if it weren’t for the couple’s quality of work and customer service. G.N.C. (Geronimo’s initials) has made it a point to attend to every customer’s concern even if their people to travel far north. And they don’t sacrifice quality for sake of having a lower price.

Beth’s simple advice for all those who want to start their business was “Tiyaga at tipid” (perseverance and thrift), which are two of her greatest assets.

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The size of the calamares being sold is so big enough for the the retail price of P 3.00 per piece or P 10.00 per stick. Allegedly, the said molllusk was shipped from China and should be spoiled within the duration of the journey. Its being traded here in the Philippines for P 1200.00 or just $40 per sack or P 70.00 per kilo said GMA News

The reason why it is so cheap is because it contains Formaldehyde also know as “formalin”. I don’t have to explain this since almost all sane people know that formalin is used for embalming corpses. “KADIRI diba”. Formalin is a carcinogenic or a cancer causing substance.

There is also news from ABS-CBN that a Veterinary Medicine (VET-MED) student from UP Los Banos died by accidentally drinking a glass of formalin.

Other goods (are they really good?) that controversially contains formalin are white rabbit milk candy and 36 other candies with Chinese characters.

Watch this GMA 24 ORAS Video

Here is a spoof video of Imbestigador

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