BACKGROUND OF THE BUSINESS

Chooks-to-Go is a chain of stores owned by Bounty Agro Ventures,

Inc. (BAVI), a privately owned company operating in the Philippines. It
offers roast chicken and processed meats for off-premises consumption and is
the largest roasted chicken retail business in the country.
Chooks-to-Go currently has close to a thousand outlets. The majority are
in suburban areas and small towns, enabling access to a larger part of the
population. The product mix is adjusted to suit local preferences.
The company has 23 processing plants across the country, allowing
logistical and processing flexibility to match daily orders. A cold chain system
delivers fresh products every day. Food safety is constantly monitored,
with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) compliance
underway.
Chooks-to-Go is an official partner of the Gilas Pilipinas program for
the Philippine men's basketball team since 2016.

HOW IT STARTED
In 2008, Ronald Mascariñas challenged the existing roasted chicken
industry.
Under Bounty Agro Ventures (BAVI), the largest egg producer in the
Philippines, he introduced a product that would become the Philippines’
second largest poultry integrator. He founded Chooks-to-Go, a chicken
rotisserie store chain that currently runs with almost 1,700 stores nationwide.
And like any other business, it wasn’t an overnight success; it was the fruit of
determination and will.
BAVI was founded by businessman Tennyson Chen, who started the
business with a poultry farm of 5,000 chickens in Sta. Maria, Bulacan. After
years, he hired Mascariñas, who was then the president of Smokey’s—a
fast-food brand of San Miguel Purefoods. Mascariñas built a team of his
trusted colleagues and gained connections from their huge network. This plan
then started BAVI’s nationwide poultry integration operations.
To accelerate nationwide reach, BAVI let third-party investors join in
building and operating a network of poultry farms. In the late 1990s, the
ASEAN free-trade agreement threatened BAVI’s business. Bigger poultry
producers offered the same products at a lower price.
When they looked at their numbers compared to Thailand, which is the
biggest poultry producer in the region, they began to plan an action to save the
company. They planned a strategy that will market their product at a cheaper
price. The imminent challenge of cheaper chicken supply from competing
imports with the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
Agreement gave birth to Chooks-to-Go.

TYPE OF BUSINESS: CORPORATION

CORPORATORS/OWNERS:
Owner: Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc. (BAVI)

Founder: Tennyson Chen

Manager: Ronald R. Mascariñas

PRODUCTS
Chooks-to-Go offers oven-roasted chicken in sweet and pepper roast
flavors. Fried Chooks is chicken that is fried after roasting, creating a deep
flavoured taste. Other products are Juicy Liempo, Fried Chicken and Chix 22.
Chilled products include Chicken Licken hotdogs, Chicken Nuggets, Spicy
Necks and Bounty Fresh Valentino Chicken. Fresh Chicken, Chicken Cut-Ups
and Marinado are available under the Chooksie's brand.

COMPETITORS
The top 10 competitors in Chooks-to-go's competitive set are Max's
Restaurant, Cyma Restaurants, Sentro 1771, Shakey's Pizza, Ilustrado
Restaurant, Baliwag Lechon Manok, Classic Savory, Pamana Restaurant, Sea
Blue Wine Bar & Restaurant, Margaritaville Syracuse. 
 Meanwhile, the competitors of Chooks to Go roasted chicken in the
province are Sr. Pedro Lechon Manok, Ogis Lechon Manok, Botoy’s Lechon
Manok and other local roasted chicken operators. The competitions forces in
the province are in moderate level. The strength of the company is that they
manufacture their own products, they operate their own broiler farms, feed
mills and processing plants thus they have the sufficient supply for the
increasing demand of the public.

BUSINESS STRATEGY
Chooks to Go adopted a new approach to marketing roast chicken and
processed meat products that focused on take-out customers only. The major
advantage of this strategy is its very low overhead and fixed costs. According
to Mascariñas in the take-out market it is possible to offer the same kind of
product at half the price in a sit-down eatery and it is still profitable because the
cost of take-out operations is significantly lower. As a result, Chooks to Go has
been expanding with stunning speed. It is geared and organised to open an
additional 500 stores in 2013.Instead of competing head-to-head with big
players in Metro Manila and other major cities, Chooks to Go has tapped into a
niche market in rural areas and small towns. Given the small-to-low capital
requirements of opening a new outlet, it has been able to grow rapidly. It is
also viable in remote locations where fixed costs are prohibitive for typical fast
food operators. A small town environment means reduced competition and
often better profits than can be achieved in urban areas. In order to meet local
palates the product mix can easily be adjusted. 

BUSINESS STRUGGLES
In its pilot phase, BAVI’s retail business was nothing short of a failure.
Setting up an initial 10 Chooks To Go test stores in Visayas, 8 of its stores sold
no more than 10 heads a day. At that time, the results were clear. There were
daily reports that would come in. Weekly reports, monthly reports, and then a
final summary after two months – there was an 80% failure rate.
With the seeming imminent end of the company’s proposed retail segment,
Mascariñas decided to visit the stores a final time before closure. Witnessing
slow sales came as no surprise. However, two of the company’s test stores in
Ormoc and Tacloban offered what Mascriñas could only describe as
overwhelming success.
 The difference was in a decision of the manager of that store to change the
product’s recipe. The step, as it turns out, involved decreasing the amount of
water added to the product's spice mix. In turn, a dry spice mix was opted for.

NET PROFIT
Annual Profit: Php 250,000,000.00