FOOD delivery services are becoming a thing in the country, and Davao City is no stranger to it. Yet, for a city inhabited by people of diverse faith, these services can only serve as much.
Muslims, which comprised 63,127 or 3.8 percent of the city’s total population as of 2015, are few of the people struggling to avail of the convenience brought by food delivery services. They are either challenged by limited Halal-certified restaurants they can order from or they have reservations in ordering through the existing food delivery services.
This was what Khalid Gorospe has on top of his mind when he started Oridoo Halal Delivery Services, the first Halal delivery in the country.
“Halimbawa, umorder ako ng pork barbeque and then after that yung kabila naman nag order ng chicken barbecue [using the] same container, mai-experience mo. Even yung donut, mag-aamoy. Minsan, baka may mga natira pang mantika na dumikit doon (If I order pork barbeque and the other customer next to me orders chicken barbecue, chances are, both food items are put inside the same container. Even donuts will smell pork or oil might stick on it),” he said.
“Tinatanggal ko yung ganung klaseng pagdududa sa customer para naman kampante silang kainin yung inorder nila. Alam nilang Halal (I want the customers to be confident with their orders that it is Halal),” he added.
Gorospe said what is important for him is to protect the integrity of Halal food or items being delivered to the customers, Muslims or Christians alike.
“Nilalagyan natin ng choice yung tao, yung mga Muslim at yung mga halal enthusiasts. Yung alam nila gaano ka importante yung halal sa katawan natin (We are giving the Muslims and Halal-enthusiasts a choice when they realize how important Halal is for them),” he said.
Oridoo piloted more than a week ago with three riders and currently servicing Halal-certified and Muslim-friendly establishments.
Despite the fewer number of Halal-certified establishments in the city right now, Gorospe’s optimism that Halal will become everybody’s lifestyle in the future pushed him to start this business. He also wanted to contribute to the development of the Halal industry.
It is for this reason that he opened doors for other interested non-Muslims merchants, especially small businesses. After all, Halal goes beyond just being non-pork but a lifestyle that nourishes one’s body.
“For example, you are an MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) and you are selling vegetables, automatically, this is Halal. [It is] good for the body. You are selling fruit juice, although, you are a Christian, these options are also welcome to Oridoo,” he said.
He shared he has one Christian merchant selling healthy food options because they wanted their products to reach more market aside from the health-conscious individuals.
He said he is willing to impart his knowledge on Halal to interested small businesses who want to expand their market.
“Hindi naman kita mapipilit na wag mag offer din ng pork but once you are preparing Halal, make sure everything na nasa paligid mo is Halal. Pinaprepare mo siya separate days at yung nililinis mo talaga yung iyong mga gamit (I cannot prevent you to offer pork but if you decided to prepare Halal, make sure that you prepare them on a separate day and your kitchen tools are clean),” he said.
Since Oridoo is still at its infancy, Gorospe said he promotes his merchant through Facebook for free and takes orders through Messenger or phone calls for now.
His online application is still being developed and plans to branch out to other places in Mindanao such as Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato.
“People will realize in the future that there is a market for Oridoo Halal Delivery [Services]. Habaan lang yung patience (We just have to be patient),” he said.