A HOMEGROWN frozen yogurt outfit is optimistic on its business prospects despite the stiff competition in the market.
“Cebu’s market is bullish. In fact, it is a good market to test for new businesses before going to Manila or any other areas,” said Francis Benedict Cutiongco of Newledge Management Corp.
Cutiongco is co-owner of Yo-Go Boy, a local frozen yogurt business that recently opened at the Banilad Town Center (BTC).
“It used to be inside Toys@Work here at BTC but when we saw the growing number of clients patronizing our frozen yogurt products, we decided to move out and have a stand-alone outlet for this promising business,” Cutiongco said.
Yo-Go Boy started its operation in October last year. It recently opened another outlet in SM City Cebu.
It sells different frozen yogurt products like yo-go boy (classic frozen yogurt), yo-go waffle, yo-go refreshers and yo-go parfait, with prices ranging from P75 to P95.
About 35 toppings are also available for customers to choose from.
“When we started operating this business, the concept really was to attract the younger market. However, we observed that not only those in the younger market love our products but also the adults. That is why we further strengthened the ‘made for kids, loved by adults’ concept of the store,” he said.
He said 80 percent of their customers are adults.
Cutiongco said being in the yogurt business also allows them to raise the awareness of Cebuanos on the health benefits of yogurt.
“The fad now is going into a healthy lifestyle and yogurt has a lot of nutritional benefits,” he said.
Yogurt is rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and B12. Frozen yogurt is slightly tarter than ice cream and lower in fat. It is served in a wide variety of flavors and styles.
With the positive feedback from the market since its operation, Cutiongco said the business will definitely expand in areas outside the province.
“Expansions plans will be finalized towards the end of the year but for now, we’ll focus first on the Cebu market, where the economy is really upbeat,” he said.