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Iconic Filipino food brand is coming to Dubai

Dubai - Razon's of Guagua will open its first branch outside of the Philippines in Dubai

Philippine cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world, and while there are already a number of restaurant brands from the Southeast Asian nation that have set up shop in the UAE, there are still a number out there that's sure to whet the appetite of Filipinos and other nationalities alike.

"There's still so much potential in the Philippines [when it comes to restaurant brands]," Jose G. Razon, executive vice-president of Razon Foods Corp, told Khaleej Times ahead of the opening of the first Razon's of Guagua branch outside of the Philippines. It will be the iconic brand's first venture outside of the country and will be located in Karama and open  on Tuesday.
Razon admitted that they had initially looked into the United States for its first foray abroad, but said that, for a first-timer outside the country, it wasn't that easy.

Selecting the UAE, particularly Dubai, then, proved to be an easy choice, thanks to 2 factors: the ease of doing business the nation is known for and another that caught them quite off-guard.

Razon says that friends introduced them to 2 Emirati businessmen and arranged a visit to their corporate offices in Manila. They were looking for a brand that was worthy of their first venture into the food business; eventually, that would be Razon's, which is widely-known for its 'halo-halo' - similar to falooda in this part of the world - and other favourite local dishes.


"We were not really planning to go outside [of the Philippines] until they went to Manila and looked at certain brands," Razon says. "They were convinced that we will make a big mark here in the UAE."

Razon's is a family business that started in the early 1970s in the province of Pampanga, north of Manila. The brand opened its first branch in Manila in 2003; today, it has 74 outlets in the archipelago, and it seems that No. 75 was reserved for something this big.

Razon disclosed that Dh1 million was shelled out as initial capitalisation to set up its Dubai branch. The joint venture with the Emirati entrepreneurs, they felt, was the best way to make its first international branch a reality.

"With the partners we have right now, we feel that we can relate to them because their attitude is very much down-to-earth," he stresses.

An all-Filipino crew will be manning the branch in Dubai, a small team composed of company veterans.
Razon's expectations are modest: of the estimated 700,000 Filipinos living and working in the UAE, he believes that capturing even 10 per cent of that figure will be more than enough to keep its operations here strong. The plan, he also adds, is to open more branches in the UAE.

Razon says that while Filipinos indeed have brand loyalty, one of the challenges is to make the taste as authentic as possible. To do this, the company will be air-freighting all ingredients from the Philippines to Dubai.

He is also confident that the restaurant will appeal to all nationalities. "I would say that a trade secret is more of having methodical cooking and the proper ingredients," he added.

- alvin@khaleejtimes.com