MANILA, Philippines – “Hindi pa sila sikat, pero ang sarap.”
This has most probably come up in many customers’ minds after trying new dishes from small, up-and-coming online businesses for the first time.
As the food world shifted to deliveries and digital transactions in the pandemic, more and more home-based small businesses and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) began to emerge. Over the last few years, small businesses have captured the attention of the local market because of its unique concepts, flavorful food and drinks, and affordable prices.
Now, food delivery app GrabFood wants to shine an even brighter light on these SMEs through its newly-launched program Indie Eats, where GrabFood amplifies the presence of up-and-coming small businesses.
Indie Eats has over 80 merchant partners, with a feature on 21 restaurants. Some offer Japanese cuisine, like Takoyummy Takoyaki, Tebasaki Fusion, and Takoyaki Megumi; others offer Filipino food and delicacies like LaMon Meals To Go, SebKin Sisigan, Goto Place, Madrid Goto Pares Mami Atbp, Emys Kakanin, SOYummPh, and Milay PH.
There are also cafes like Sugar Lab Cafe, BLVCK Cafe, Diner’s Cafe, and The Coffee Vinz; while there are comfort food restaurants like Kupps, Mango Series, Sip n’ Brew Milk Tea, Milkitas, Surf Burger, Unop’s Chicken Corner, and Heat2Eat Ph.
Other popular stores include Habit Food Group Mix, which serves affordable healthy food in hearty rice bowls, salads, and wraps; Gogodak Korean Chicken which serves classic Korean cuisine like chicken wings and rice cakes; MOS Japanese Bento Kitchen which serves numerous Japanese bento boxes, and GotoChie Atbp which serves goto, tapa, and daing, among other delicacies.
At the forefront of promoting this campaign is an unusual but exciting tandem: Indie Eats Brand Ambassadors Erwan Heussaff and Sassa Gurl. In Erwan Heussaff’s first-ever mukbang video on his channel, he is joined by Sassa Gurl where they both answer burning and entertaining questions while munching on mouthwatering bites from different Indie Eats merchants.
In the video, Erwan and Sassa talk about the value of discovering small businesses. As seen in the video, Indie Eats’ lineup can cater to any kind of craving you might have. The pair tried out the delicacies of four restaurants: Mango Series, Lugaw ni Pinggoy, SebKin Sisigan, and Panaderia Pantoja, which are just a few of the many partners of Grab for Indie Eats.
During a press conference for Indie Eats, Erwan mentioned that his background in setting up various restaurants pushed him to get onboard the campaign.
On the other hand, Sassa decided to hop onboard the campaign because the goal of the campaign was close to her heart. She recalled seeing her friends’ moms with their own small food stalls along their streets.
Despite their collaboration being quite unusual, they both found that their pairing had the ability to create an impact thanks to their interesting chemistry.
Aside from giving their vast community of local merchant-partners a platform on their app, Grab also aims to provide assistance in other ways.
The company will be providing “upskilling seminars” which will provide training on how to create a menu and build a brand in order to upscale the knowledge of their merchant-partners.
“At Grab, we are always ready to provide support to our merchant-partners to ensure they are able to meet success and have a rewarding experience on our platform; in particular, small food businesses hold a lot of potential not just in Grab but in our local food industry as a whole,” Head of Merchants and Partnerships Martin Luchangco shared.
“Indie Eats is just one of the many ways we want to help them in being discovered by more Filipinos, and reach success with us.”
You can visit the Indie Eats tile on the homepage of GrabFood today and discover a hidden gem for yourself! – Rappler.com
Samantha Onglatco is a Rappler intern.
