Giann Marco Santiago and his older brother Dean are among the young entrepreneurs who keep their food businesses afloat by innovating and coping with the challenges of the pandemic.
Giann is the president and chief executive of Panthree Chicken Bites—a food stall business that serves original flavored packed and rich sauce coated chicken bites, while Dean heads Supreme Hotdogs and Sushi Bake Kitchen which have stalls in major shopping malls.
“I started the brand Panthree Chicken Bites when I was in College in 2015,” says Giann, who studied at the University of Asia and the Pacific.
“From there, I started thinking what I would want to put up as an entrepreneur. I wanted to offer the market something that the people would be intrigued and surprised about. I wanted to offer chicken with a different twist in a way that it has different types of flavors and sauces.
Most of all, I wanted it to be affordable to any type of market,” he says.
The business concept turned into a reality, with Panthree Chicken Bites quickly finding its niche market at major shopping malls such as SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Lanang Davao, One San Ildefonso Mall and Victory Mall.
Giann now leads a team of 20 employees assigned in different departments.
“What sets Panthree Chicken Bites apart is you get to enjoy the crisp layer of flavorful crunchy batter/ breading while retaining the juiciness of our chicken inside. On top of that, you get the affordability of the food and uniqueness of the sauces such as Spicy Korean, American BBQ, Cheesemelt, Salted Egg and so much more,” he says.
He had big dreams for Panthree Chicken Bites, like putting up stalls in every neighborhood in the country, “but the pandemic took a toll on us.”
Giann says the impact of the pandemic was hard at first, especially when the shopping malls were ordered closed for several weeks in 2020.
“When the malls started to open again, it gave us an opportunity to think of different types of approaches to market and sell our products. It was luck and a curse at the same time,” he says.
They had to change strategy and tapped the potential of social media. “The company has been coping nicely with the pandemic since we took an initiative not just to sell our products at the store but also for it to be available online. Our plan is to keep doing what’s working and be available in social media, so that different people around the Philippines will get to know more about the brand,” says Giann.
Giann says the pandemic taught him to be ready for anything. “We need to learn to adapt to our environment no matter what happens. This pandemic thought me to be ready for what’s to come, also to keep innovating your craft because there’s much more you can do to your brand than what you think it is capable of,” he says.
Despite the challenges, Giann, who is into video gaming as a hobby, says he would like to stay as an entrepreneur “and see what the future holds for me”.
He advises other young entrepreneurs to keep innovating when something doesn’t work. “Like they say, you only need to hit the lotto once to hit the jackpot. Same thing goes here, keep trying until you find that right thing that works for you, then keep going after that,” he says.
Giann looks up to her mother, Dolores Santiago, for inspiration. Dolores is the president and CEO of Smart Buy Lending & Marketing Corp.
Meanwhile, Dean has a longer experience in running a business through Supreme Hotdogs which her mother started 10 years ago. “We started that concept because we wanted to provide an easy on-the-pocket hotdog meal for everyone,” he says.
Supreme Hotdogs became popular because of the many variants it offers. “The different toppings make the difference. Supreme Hotdogs are currently in different malls nationwide,” says Dean.
Dean launched SushiBake Kitchen last year amid the pandemic. “The tremendous craze for Sushibake led us to create something not ordinary. Our very own unique version was a big hit in the market. Being the first and only one to sell the product by the slice and offering different tangy variants of SushiBake Kitchen instantly became the crowd’s fave,” he says.
Dean heads a team of 10 employees spread in the company’s Ortigas office and outlets at SM Megamall, SM North, SM Fairview, and SM Mall of Asia.
“Our company differs from other establishments because we make sure the best quality and uniqueness of our products are being consistently taken care of by our team. We put so much love, care, concern for one another and make sure that through these tough times, everybody is properly attended to in the best way possible given our limitation nowadays,” he says.
Dean, who studied Psychology at St. Paul University in Quezon City, says they coped with the challenges by having the best possible solutions and making certain adjustments. “We studied the strengths and weaknesses, the pros and cons for us to stay put and where we want to be. It’s always better to have a game plan especially in times like this. One of our many plans is that we digitalized our products so that we can still compete in the market given the pandemic, and the main plan is to live with the current scenario by having the best possible solution to make the company alive and kicking,” he says.
Like Giann, Dean regularly listens to masses for the right mindset and clarity in life. “Most of all, it gives me guidance, courage, strength, to face any obstacle because I know He is with me through good times and otherwise,” he says.
Dean says during hard and tough times, it is important to find your rhythm. “It may be hard, but knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you decide the things you need to retain,” he says.