The Department of Trade and Industry has urged players in the local food and beverage industry to look at innovative digital solutions for their supply chain as the country seeks a larger market share in Southeast Asia.
Trade Assistant Secretary Art Boncato said setting up an e-palengke platform to connect F&B companies with suppliers will help increase growth in the industry domestically as well as regionally.
“We want our F&B players to be as competitive as possible. With Asean’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, we now have a potential market of 600 million people. That number goes up to 3.5 billion if you add the six partner-countries of Asean,” Boncato said during the recently concluded RestoInvest conference.
“We need to leapfrog and not just catch up in terms of ease of doing business. One option is a business-to-business e-palengke platform to connect local suppliers with potential buyers. That will have a big impact on our farmers and our micro, small and medium enterprises,” he added.
Boncato said food and beverage companies should also boost their presence online to make it easier for customers to browse their menu, make reservations, or order food for delivery.
Filipinos, however, tend to trust online products less according to Stuart Jamieson, country managing director of Nielsen Philippines, who cited online groceries that have remained at a niche 1-percent penetration.
For Jamieson, barriers to online F&B growth include infrastructure (few online resellers can consistently promise same-day delivery); ease of payment; and choice (limited differentiated choice for consumers in the packaged food category).
Still, Regina Katigbak, assistant vice president for business process of the SM Malls Group, said there is no better time to invest in the industry than now, adding that space allotted in malls for food and beverage outlets has increased significantly.
“Ten years ago, F&B outlets, primarily fast food stores, comprised only 15 percent of our total number of tenants. Now, at least 30 percent of our mall space is dedicated to food outlets, and that does not include yet pop-up stores,” she said.
“The food court has also become an important battleground for malls. The typical fast food offerings just won’t cut it anymore. We are upping the experience game when it comes to F&B,” Katigbak added.