A decade ago, Voltaire “Bong” Magpayo did not even have money to go to a dental clinic in Quezon City. When his mother-in-law lent him P500, he met not only the dentist who treated him but also someone who gave him an opportunity to launch his food cart business.
Today, Magpayo, 49, and his wife Cholly own successful food cart chains that employ more than 200 people in different cities. Sweet Corner Inc., the couple’s first food concept, is acknowledged as a model for the inclusive business franchise while Magpayo is a most distinguished alumnus in the field of Entrepreneurship at San Beda University where he obtained his Accounting degree.
The couple, who used to live in his parents’ home, now have their own in a Quezon City subdivision while their three children go to good private schools.
Sweet Corner, which sources all-natural corn from South Cotabato, has 75 food carts in shopping malls and other commercial establishments while Sumo Takoyaki, the couple’s second food concept, has another 75 outlets. They have recently ventured into the bakery business under the brand 12C4 Bread Station which currently has three stores.
His businesses have a profit margin of 30 percent to 40 percent, making them attractive franchise opportunities for others. Magpayo says he does not collect royalties from franchisees as a way to help them quickly recoup their investments.
Magpayo, who also holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific, is now a certified franchise executive bestowed by the Philippine Franchise Association and an active mentor of Go-Negosyo Philippine Center of Entrepreneurship.
Magpayo recalls growing up in a middle-income family. His parents are both public school teachers who sent him to San Beda College where he had classmates from wealthy families.
“I did not envy my rich classmates, but it served as an inspiration for me to work harder in life. If you want good things in life, you have to work for it,” Magpayo says in an interview.
“I am resourceful. I always find a way and I always try. Even when I met several failures and cried, I always persevered. I grew up in an ‘old school’ way and was trained to be strong because I am the eldest in the family,” he says.
After graduating from college, he worked for various companies and government agencies. He joined a bank for four years before migrating to General Santos City where he served as a manager of an agribusiness company. “That is where I was exposed to corn farmers because my job involved purchasing corn as a feedstock for the cattle,” he says. “I learned a lot of things in Mindanao.”
His wife Cholly is from South Cotabato which is considered the corn capital of the Philippines. She graduated from the University of San Carlos in Cebu with a degree in BS Administration and worked for a bakeshop chain.
Magpayo moved back to Manila in 2001 and became a business development officer at a government agency. “It was a job order which meant I did not enjoy employment benefits and regular status. When my boss left the government because he was co-terminus with the president, I also lost my job,” Magpayo says.
When he left the government, Magpayo had only P30,000 in savings which he did not want to touch because he was thinking of going to the US for work. Although SM approved his food cart concept, he lacked the money to pay for the security deposit to launch the business.
“I am not religious but I went to Our Lady of Antipolo and asked for a sign if I should go to America or proceed with my food cart concept,” he says.
Magpayo needed P60,000 as security deposit which was more than his total savings. “I also had young children whose studies I needed to support,” he says.
He could not even tap his savings to see a dentist. “I was suffering from a toothache, but I could not get it fixed because I was unemployed. I did not want to touch my savings because it was for my family. My mother-in-law gave me P500 and told me and my wife to go to a dental clinic,” he says.
Magpayo says while they were lining up in the clinic, his wife chatted with another client who narrated that her son had just returned from the US and was looking for a business opportunity in the Philippines.
“My wife is a quick thinker and offered the woman our franchise concept which was just approved by SM Mall of Asia then. The woman was excited and agreed to franchise three stores at P150,000 each,” says Magpayo.
“It was a miracle. We received half of the franchise fee first which we used to build the food carts, buy the materials and pay for the security deposit,” he says.
Magpayo put up his first food cart at SM MOA in June 2009, while the first franchisee established stores at SM Megamall and SM Sta. Mesa in August of the same year. A good stall in an ideal location could earn a profit of P3,000 a day, he says.
He established the brand Sweet Corner and employed guerrilla marketing and social media postings to spread awareness. He also tapped an endorser, promoting Sweet Corner for its all-natural and chemical-free sweet corn from South Cotabato. This has paid off and his chain of Sweet Corner reached 150 stores at one point, including two outlets in Melbourne, Australia before it hit a plateau.
The PFA recognized Sweet Corner as a model for the inclusive franchise business. “Corn farmers were having difficulty bringing their products to the market, particularly the end-users. What we did is we directly sourced from the farmers in South Cotabato, bypassing the traders and middlemen. This translated into a better income for the farmers,” Magpayo says.
Magpayo then launched a Japanese dumpling franchise called Sumo Takoyaki which also achieved the same level of success because of the effective branding strategy. He says the brand is what separates a product from the rest.
He says his membership at the PFA helped him grow the two brands. He also became a certified franchise executive and learned about the product cycle—from beginning to growth and peak to decline. “Don’t put your money in one basket,” he says.
The couple decided to venture into the bakery business and put up a store at Valenzuela transport terminal where it grosses P20,000 on a good day with a profit margin of 30 percent to 40 percent. Cholly, who is a baker, conceptualized the products while Magpayo is in charge of marketing and franchising. Magpayo now wants to expand 12C4 Bread Station nationwide through franchising.
Amid the success of Magpayo’s businesses, San Beda University awarded him as a most distinguished alumnus in the field of Entrepreneurship in 2019.
From attempting to work in the US to support his family a decade ago, Magpayo now travels overseas just for leisure. “I don’t want to brag but we can now go to Italy and the US for vacation. Somehow we enjoy the comforts of life,” he says.
As a franchising executive, Magpayo encourages others to start their own ventures. “You just have to try and try. Don’t be discouraged by failure. You have to accept that failure is part and parcel of growth. I ask my children to always give their best but accept that failure will always be there,” he says.
“You also need to be passionate about what you are doing. Prayer is important because you need a good opportunity or a break to start your business. In my case, it is a miracle,” he says.