Tablea to expand through franchising

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

AFTER opening their sixth store in 18 months, the owners of Tablea Chocolate Café are planning to expand their business further by opening up a franchise.

Aya Garcia-Shlachter and her husband, Larry, said they are now discussing with consultants on how to go about it.

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Larry told reporters that they are also eyeing Manila as their next location outside Cebu, saying they have many customers from Manila asking them to open a store there. He said malls have been offering them slots to occupy but they want to make sure they are given a good spot.

“What is important is the location. It’s very competitive in Manila and we want to make sure we open it in the right area,” Larry said.

While they don’t see any direct competitors, Larry said their competition is mostly coffee shops because they have a similar concept. He said there may be more chocolate cafés in Manila but he believes they are different because they offer local products and a local flavor.

Local industry

They also support the local cacao industry, selling Philippine tablea grown in Argao in Cebu, Jimalalud in Negros Oriental, San Isidro in Davao and Tagbilaran in Bohol.

Before offering a franchise in Manila, though, Larry said they want to open one or two stores on their own.

Next year, they will be opening their seventh Cebu branch at the Gaisano Capital Mall that is scheduled to open in Guadalupe.

Aya admitted they did not plan to expand this quickly.

“The opportunity arose and we got a good location, so we thought, why not?” she said, adding that her parents knew businessman Justin Uy very well. Their shop is located in front of the drop off point beside the escalators of the J Centre Mall on AS Fortuna St., in Mandaue City, which Aya said was too good to pass up.

Aside from opening their sixth branch, which is also their second stand-alone store, Aya introduced new products that customers have been asking for.

Tablea Chocolate Café now offers five varieties of powdered mixes for those who want to prepare their own drinks at home.

For the holidays, the store will also be serving puto maya with sikwate and mangoes and customized gift boxes with Tablea’s offerings. They are offering customers the option to personalize their wooden gift boxes with corporate logos or names etched on the boxes. Among their new products are truffles, brownies and chocolate chunk cookies.

They named their sipping chocolate and traditional hot chocolate, Frio shakes, churros, champorado, sylvannas, layer cakes and crinkles as some of their customers’ favorites.

Innovation

Larry said their success was largely due to their hard work and constant innovation.

“You can’t get comfortable. You have to keep improving your products,” he said, adding that they keep on experimenting every few months to see what else they can offer.

The first Tablea store was opened at the Robinson’s Cybergate in June 2010.

After having their first child in New York, Aya and Larry felt it was a good time to return to Cebu and have family around to help them. Though she still accepted projects from New York, Aya, who is an architect, said clients declined as the US economy suffered.

With her father’s help, they came up with the concept of the Tablea store and turned it into a café for the upscale market. She also designed their stores.

It soon opened other branches at the SM City Cebu, JY Square Mall, Banilad Town Centre and the Ayala Center Cebu before they formally opened their J Centre branch yesterday morning.