MMM… Siomai Love officially opened February 14, Valentine’s Day. Over fifty official franchisees have become part of a fast-growing business and more and more are coming. MMM… Siomai Love is a product of FACT Siomai Love Incorporation. The marketing strategy is simple: FACT Siomai Love offers startup siomai business for small and medium scale businesses within Metro Manila. The first thing I EVER
said when I heard the name Siomai Love was, “Ang baduy!” (That’s so cheezy!) Seriously, that gets the Golden Pun award. However, with XOXO, Mwah, Beso, and I Love You Meals actually becoming part of what is sold, I realize that it doesn’t take much to make a clever phrase or word catch on. The hard part’s keeping the attention long enough that, when the hype of Valentine’s Day slowly dies down and it comes down to the actual food and function of the business, we still have a captive audience. So, instead of extolling the virtues of Siomai Love by myself, we went on a mini tour of some franchisees and asked them what THEY thought! First stop was the Mary Irish Store, a hole-in-the-wall type eatery near ICCT just a few minutes away from Sta. Jek-Jek and Rose had good things to say:
Sino po ang kumakain dito madalas? (Who usually eat here?)
JEK-JEK: Mga estudyante po tsaka mga empleyado at trabahador. (Students and employees and [construction] workers)
Rose: Diyan din ako nagtratrabaho. Ano po lasa? (What’s the taste?)
ROSE: Okay nga eh. (It’s actually okay.) Maarina po ba? (Does it have a floury texture?)
ROSE: Hindi. (No.) Ipapakain niyo po ba sa mga anak niyo yan? (Would you feed it to your children?)
ROSE: Ako, ipapakain ko yan, bakit hindi? [May] gulay kasi eh. Yung mga bata, ayaw yung gulay na ganiyan. Yang ganiyan… kakainin yan talaga ng mga bata. (Oh, I’d feed it to them, why not? There are vegetables in them. These children, they don’t like veggies like that [points to the vegetable dishes in their menu]. But make it like that, and the children will eat them.) Siomai Love aims to be the healthier option, minimizing artificial flavoring and sweeteners and replacing them with veggies. They come in two sizes, Mwah (the student-friendly, economy sized and priced ones with squash), and Beso (bigger versions with squash, potato, and mushroom. The next store was even more secluded, being the only one that sold the product for over a hundred meters. The Medina Store’s shop keep and owner, Rem gave us some very encouraging information on her experience with Siomai Love. Ano yung pinagkaiba ng siomai na ito? (What sets this siomai apart?)
REM: Mas masarap siya eh, at mas maganda kasi may gulay. Kasi dati, hindi ako mahilig sa siomai talaga… hindi rin ako mahilig sa gulay pero, in fairness, kumakain ako nito. (It’s more delicious and it’s better because it has veggies. I used to not like siomai at all… I wasn’t a big fan of vegetables either but, in fairness, I eat these.) Sino po yung madalas kumakain dito? (Who usually eats here?)
REM: Mga bata. (Kids)
The third store, Tindahan ni Lolo, is an interesting case. It’s a small humble hut literally five meters from the side of the road, dwarfed by bigger homes. The man who owns it used to be a talent coordinator but his career took a nosedive when he needed to undergo dialysis. The small store he put up barely made ends meet but he seems quite enthusiastic with the results of franchising Siomai Love just the night before the 14. GENE: Nagustuhan ng mga tao dito. (People here seem to like it.) Ilang araw lang, tatlong bag na naubos niyo? (You’ve finished three bags in just a few days?)
GENE: Kagabi pa lang ako nagbukas. (I just opened last night.) Tapos tatlong bag na? (And it’s been three bags already?)
GENE: Oo. Di kasi ako pwede kumain ng madaming pork at maalat dahil sa dialysis. Bukas nga po, pupunta ako sa ospital kasi may nag-order sa akin na mga nurse at pasyente. Sa akin kase, nakakatulong siya sa pang-araw-araw na gastusin ko. (Yeah. I can’t eat too much pork and salty foods because I’m undergoing dialysis. In fact, tomorrow, I’ll be visiting the hospital because some nurses and patients have ordered from me. It helps with my daily expenses.) Gene eats and sells the Mwah to his fellow patients to avoid too much potassium. He also finds it good that we don’t use artificial sweeteners and minimize salt and additives. While I thought it couldn’t be any more serious, our next stop was at Guzman Memorial for the wake of a 97 year old dame. It was early in the afternoon so there weren’t many people yet. However, the family of the deceased, equally grand old ladies themselves, were very pleased to not have to prepare anything for the guests. We opted to keep it subtle and not conduct an actual interview. This was what we gathered:
“At least hindi na naming kelangan maghanda. Eh, matatanda na din kami kaya di na din kami puwedeng kumain ng masyadong mataba at makarne. Masarap at masustansiya siya kasi may gulay. Di ko din alam na may gulay pala kasi lasang karne.” (At least we don’t have to prepare anything. We’re old and therefore can’t eat too many fatty foods or a lot of meat. It’s delicious and healthy because of the vegetables. I didn’t even know they had them because it tasted like meat.) The distributors, Lyn and husband Ronald, have this to say about the product:
RONALD: Masaya yung mga dinedeliveran namin. Malaking tulong yun sa kinabubuhay nila. Nagugustuhan ng mga bata… masarap daw... yung iba, maalat. Nagugulat sila na may gulay yung siomai. (The people we deliver to are happy. It’s a great help to their business. The children love it… it’s delicious… the others are too salty. They’re surprised to know there’s veggies in the siomai.) Saan na yung pinakamalayo ninyong delivery? (What’s the farthest place you’ve delivered to?)
Nagdeliver na kami sa Montalban, Cogeo, at Mandaluyong. (We’ve delivered to Montalban, Cogeo, and Mandaluyong.) Ilan na po ang nabigyan ng Siomai Love? LYN: We started last Feb 7 but our grand opening is today because of Valentine’s Day. As of today, meron na tayong 50 retailers o store na nilatagan. Ang area niyan is Marikina, then Montalban, San Mateo, Cogeo, Antipolo, Cainta, Pasig. (As of today, we have delivered to 50 retailers and stores. The areas are in Marikina, then Montalban, etc.) So ano po yung pinagkakaiba ng Siomai Love sa mga nauna? (So what’s the difference between Siomai Love and those before?)
LYN: Ang goal kasi namin is makatulong dun sa mga gustong mag-umpisa ng negosyo. Meron kaming commissary na malinis at may quality control kaya may tiwala ako sa production. Hindi lang ito yung typical na love… ma-express din natin yung pagmamahal sa kapwa natin sa paraang pwede silang kumita at tumankilik ng isang produkto na makapagbibigay sa kanila ng pankabuhayan na mas masustansiya at affordable. (Our goal is to help those who want to start a business. We have a commissary that’s clean and has quality control so I trust the production. This isn’t the typical love… we can express love to our fellow man in a way that they can earn and enjoy a product that can give them a living that’s healthier and affordable.) For those interested in starting their own franchise or adding it to their already existing business (seriously, cafes, restaurants, cottage industries not even remotely related to food), you may contact the following people:
Mica Butac – 09434836454
Hannah Santos – 09053109916 / 09186483394
