FROM what started out as a “crazy idea” and “funny thought,” Dianne Jaque has turned it into something big, cold and “shockingly” sweet.
Mangogoolat, Jaque said, was borne out of the funny yet cute reaction of her dog, a Siberian Husky named Maine.
“Nagsimula kasi ‘yung husky ko mahilig siya sa mangga. Everytime makakita siya ng mangga, nagugulat siya to the point na pag may customer, inaagaw nya yung mango float, (My husky is very fond of mangoes. Everytime she sees a mango, she gets shocked to the point that when a customer orders mango float, she attempts to steal it from them)” Jaque said.
She added that it was her dog’s reaction that the name “Mangogoolat” derived from.
Jaque, a businesswoman who lived with her grandfather that owned a mango farm in Bulacan, shared that apart from her dog, putting up Mangogoolat came from the childhood memory of harvesting mangoes with her family.
“Bata pa lang ako, nakikita ko na nagfa-farming, nagha-harvest kami ng mangga. So parang yung time na nag boom yung industry, yung food na for mangga, naisip ko na it’s a way to relive the memories with my lolo,” she said.
She added that Mangogoolat, which serves mangoes produced by local farmers from Guimaras, Davao, Bulacan, Zambales and Batangas, can also help in the promotion of locally produced mangoes in the country.
“Dumating kasi sa point na sobrang over yung production ng mangga, so parang Mangogoolat can help those local farmers natin dito sa Philippines to promote mangoes,” Jaque said.
Mangogoolat started in Tagaytay City, although despite being one of the cold areas in the country, Jaque said there are still several people coming in to get a taste of Mangogoolat’s best-tasting Mango Graham Ice Cream Float, a dessert consisted of a combination of natural ice cream and fresh mango fruit.
“Pwede sya sa mga diabetic because my dad is diabetic. Technically wala syang sugar. Kaya sya matamis kasi matamis yung mangga and then it has milk,” Jaque said.
Mangogoolat took pride of their taste of Mangogoolat Shake where instead of whipped cream, they put a full scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Jaque shared that they are the ones who came up with their original ice cream which they use for their desserts.
“Gusto ko na kahit sa small detail na ice cream, kahit kainin mo mag isa yung ice cream, meron siyang a distinct taste,” she said.
Soon, she added, Mangogoolat will be serving more than just the mango float and shake as they plan on coming up with variations of mango-based food such as mango sticky rice, mango sticks, mango banana split, among others.
Last Sunday, August 18, Mangogoolat opened its first cafe in DL Suites, Kauwagan, Cagayan de Oro City, franchised by Jeson Visaya.
“This will be the first Mangogoolat Cafe in Cagayan de Oro kasi sa place ko and then sa Manila, puro food cart lang siya. But this, ginawan namain ng twist yung dinala namin dito sa Cagayan de Oro so merong Mangogoolat Cafe,” Jaque said.
According to Visaya, Mangogoolat’s head franchisee in Cagayan de Oro, he initially planned to franchise a store that serves milk tea, however, he was charmed at what he saw in Mangogoolat.
“Actually, first I really want milk tea then, hindi pa ako nakapag-decide kung anong milk tea [establishment]. I always scroll and scroll until I saw Mangogoolat in my news feed,” Visaya said.
“Napag-desisyonan ko na ifra-franchise ko [yung Mangogoolat]. Dream ko dati na hopefully magka-business ako. Gusto ko ring dalhin si Mangogoolat dito kasi naantig ako sa nakita ko sa Mangogoolat,” he added.
Apart from the cafe, Mangogoolat has a booth situated in Centrio Ayala Mall for the whole month of August. Visaya shared that they will soon open a branch in Gaisano Puerto and in Divisoria.
At present, Mangogoolat has 20 operational branches nationwide, with Cagayan de Oro as the farthest branch followed by Pampanga. Jaque also disclosed a possible branch in Singapore.
“Hanggang ngayon, overwhelmed pa rin ako, hindi pa rin masyadong nagsi-sink in na ang dami na nila. I just started with a crazy idea, funny thought lang but I’m doing business na kasi since I was in college pa. So aside from Mangogoolat, I have other businesses pa,” Jaque said.
“So parang God’s perfect timing lang,” she added.