THE IMPACTS OF ECONOMIC INFLATION IN THE YEAR 2021 – 2022 TO THE

FOOD STALLS IN CITYWALK TARLAC

A Research
Presented to the Faculty of
Tourism and Hospitality Management
STI College Tarlac

In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

TRIZIA KAYE D. BAUTISTA

LATRELL D. LAPIGUERA
SHEILA MARIE D. NON
JOHN MICHAEL S. SANTOS
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Philippines is one of the countries that has a high rate of poverty. According to the
Philippine Statistics Authority, about 2.3 million people in the Philippines were pushed into
poverty between 2018 and 2021, largely due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
The PSA defines poverty as those Filipinos whose per capita income cannot sufficiently meet
individual basic food and non-food needs. Due to poverty, Filipinos deliberately make a living,
one of which is through profits from small businesses. Sari-sari stores, online selling, thrift
stores, street vending, and food stalls are just a few of the businesses that help a lot of Filipinos
provide for their daily needs despite the threat of COVID. Due to COVID in early 2021,
countries suffer from the threat of inflation. Inflation is defined as a general increase in the prices
of goods and services in an economy.

One of the countries that suffers from inflation is the Philippines. The increasing cost of living
and decreasing value of Philippine peso is continuous. Due to the rising prices of goods and
services most industries are affected from it especially the food industry. Because of inflation
prices of fresh produce, gasoline, meat, water, electricity etc. increases which has become a
challenge for most member of the food industry especially the food stalls. Food stalls are any
lock up stall where food of any kind is sold or exposed for sale. Food stall is one of the most
common businesses in the Philippines these businesses are seen almost everywhere. One of the
provinces who has a lot of food stalls is Tarlac, most malls in Tarlac has food stalls especially
Citywalk Tarlac. Citywalk is a shopping center or mall located at Zamora Street Tarlac City, the
mall is known for numerous food stall that sells different food including snacks, beverage, rice
meals etc. it is very common for the students because of the wide selection of available food
selection with a cheap price.
 Background of the Study

The Philippines is one of the developing countries in Asia. It is known for its people’s hospitality,
food, natural tourist spots, agricultural goods and cheap products and services. The Philippines
has a total of 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions
from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It has 18 regions; 81 provinces; 145 cities;
1,489 municipalities; and 42,029 barangays. According to Biswas (2022), the Philippine
economy has continued to show rapid expansion in early 2022, with first quarter gross domestic
product (GDP) growth up 8.3% year-on-year (y/y). This followed a GDP growth rebound of
5.6% in 2021, despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 Delta wave that hit the nation in the
second half of 2021.

Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is
measured as the rate of change of those prices. Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can
also fall (a situation called deflation). The most well-known indicator of inflation is the
Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of
goods and services consumed by households. The inflation rate is the annual rate of change, or
the percentage change in CPI from year to year. Inflation is interpreted in terms of the declining
purchasing power of money. The purchasing power of the peso shows how much the peso in the
base period is worth in the current period. (PSA, n.d.). There are various factors that can drive
prices or inflation in an economy. Typically, inflation results from an increase in production
costs or an increase in demand for products and services. (Boyle, 2022).

In the report shown by Rivas (2022), In the year 2021, the Philippines’ inflation rate rose to
4.5%. Prices of goods rose at a much faster pace in 2021 than what the government aimed for, as
Filipinos struggled to make ends meet amid the coronavirus crisis. The headline inflation in the
Philippines increased further to 4.9 percent in April 2022, from 4.0 percent in March 2022. This
is the highest recorded inflation since January 2019. In April 2021, inflation was 4.1 percent.

The increase in the country’s inflation was mainly brought about by the higher annual increase in
the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages, at 3.8 percent; transport, at 13.0 percent; and
housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, at 6.9 percent. Also contributing to the uptrend in
overall inflation during the period were the higher annual increments in the indices of the
following commodity groups as compared with their previous month’s inflation rates: alcoholic
beverages and tobacco, 5.9 percent; clothing and footwear, 2.0 percent; recreation, sport and
culture, 1.6 percent; personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.3 percent.
Meanwhile, annual increases in health indices slowed to 2.4 percent, and 2.8 percent in
restaurant and lodging services.

Because of the inflation or the rising prices of goods, one of the most affected industries is the
food industry, especially food stalls are one of the most common economic opportunity providers
among lower class to lower middle socioeconomic individual. Food stall is a type of small
enterprise where the vendors are in a specific area including inside malls and they prepare and
serve food to their customers. Due to their inexpensive price, most people acquire them. But with
the rising prices of raw materials most food stalls suffer from it. Some food stalls are associated
with suppliers but with the increase of gasoline the transportation of supplies are delayed and
much more expensive. This research aims to study the impact of inflation on the food stall
vendors in Citywalk Tarlac in terms of determining the effect on sales and production costs of the
products before and during the inflation. The researchers also want to know what steps food stall
vendors can take to reduce the cost of their products. Also, in this research, the purchasing
behavior of the vendors will also be determined.
 Research Questions

1. What are the effects of economic inflation on the food stall businesses in Citywalk Tarlac

a. How did they respond to economic inflation?

b. What business strategies and planning they did to survive the effect of inflation?

2. Are there any changes in their product prices in the year 2021 and 2022 compared to year
2020?
a. What is their price difference in their product before and during the inflation?
b. How did the price adjustments of their product affect their business?

3. What are the differences in the prices of raw materials before and during inflation?

a. Oil, sugar, flour, and eggs are the most common ingredients used in food products.
How did the food stall vendors avoid sudden price increase?
b. What alternatives did the food stalls take to lower their production cost?

4. What are the modifications they did to lessen their product cost?
a. What are the possible changes in their product to lessen its cost?
b. What alternatives did they do to lessen their cost of production?

5. How does economic inflation affect the food stall vendors in Citywalk Tarlac?
a. What are the changes in customer demands?
b. What are the impacts of the rising prices of LPG, gasoline and electricity to the food
stall vendors?
c. How does economic inflation affect the food stalls marketing strategy?
d. What other expenses that increased dur to inflation that affects the income of the
businesses?
 Significance of the Study

The study will be conducted to determine the impact of economic inflation in the years 2021-
2022 on the Food stall vendors in Citywalk Tarlac. It will be beneficial for the following:

 To the Future Microenterprises. This study will be beneficial to those who want to get an
extra income as a future food seller. This study will become a reference and guide to get
some information and ideas about the aspects of the economic inflation rate over a given
period of time.

 Food Stall Vendors. This will assist them in determining what is best for their customer
because they have a vested interest in providing good service and are more likely to care
about the quality of their products and how they are serving their customers.

 The Local Government Unit (LGU). This study will benefit them by being aware of the
economic inflation for the food stall vendors. Since LGU’s collecting local tax from the
food stall vendors this study can help them determine what actions they can take to help
the food stall vendors.
.
 The customers. This study will benefit them by being aware of the progress and changes
in the production costs when it comes to the products, they purchase from the food stall
vendors. Wherein customers easily understand the situation of the street food vendors
when it comes to the overall impact of economic inflation.

 Students. They will be able to assess their current knowledge and awareness towards the
impacts of economic inflation, especially for those students who are taking a Business
Administration course, Entrepreneurship or Hospitality Management course. This study
will help them in their ideas on the rising prices of goods and services in the economy.
This study will serve as a guide when they are planning to conduct a study.
  To the Future Researcher. The result will serve as the researchers’ basis and source of
information when they conduct the same or related study in the future.

The goal of the study is to gather information concerning the impact of inflation on food stall
vendors in Tarlac City. Furthermore, the researchers aim to:

1. To Determine the factors that influence raw material prices, sales, and income for the
food stall vendors in an inflating environment.

2. To know the difference in the product prices before and after inflation.

3. To evaluate changes in the customer’s demand.

4. To find alternatives for food stall vendors to reduce product costs.

5. To know the effect of economic inflation to the food stall vendors including their
marketing strategy.
 Scope and Limitations

This research aims to determine the impact of inflation on the food stall vendors in Citywalk
Tarlac. This research will identify the changes in prices, sales, and income of the food stall
vendors before and during inflation. This study will also find out the probable alternatives that
the food stall vendors can use to lower their costs. It was conducted from the month of
September to November of the year 2022. The researchers will be providing questionnaires to
selected food stall vendors in Citywalk Tarlac.

The total research population of the research is about 20 respondents from the food stall vendors
of Tarlac City. These include the snack vendors, beverage vendors and rice meal vendors that
markets their product at Citywalk Tarlac. The responders won't be restricted to a certain gender
or age, making the survey impartial.

The research will be funded by researchers who consist of four people. The research period is
limited. Therefore, it limits the possibility to travel and gather a much bigger population for data
gathering. This study does not cover the customer preferences and opinions regarding economic
inflation.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Studies
Inflation Effects on Hargeisa's Low Income Families High-Quality Research Support
(HQRS)

The most obvious informal marketplace is made up of street vendors. Street vendors are referred
to as those who buy goods at retail and offer them on the sidewalk, roadsides or streets, bus stops
as well as other places with a substantial audience for income to survive as a living. They can
sell the items by opening a tiny store in a suitable location or by transporting the goods to various
locations without obtaining a permit for the selling of commodities. When it comes to supply and
demand, inflation raises poverty rates, especially to the food and service prices across in all
categories, which is one of the high inflations. Low-income families were singled out as being
particularly affected by inflation, and researchers found some positive relationships between
inflation and poverty. Inflation research was done in 2011 so that the National Bureau of
Statistics could conduct monthly price surveys of reliable categories. (Karthikeyan &
Mangaleswaran,2017).

A Study on Determinants of Inflation in Rwanda from 1970-2013

According to the study conducted by Ruzima et al. (2015), people's financial power to purchase
items or products because of inflation. It causes them additional money to buy one unit of a
product or service. Hence, individuals spend a great deal of money on consumption and
expenses. Savings and investments are declining, which leads to more unemployment of people
and weaker economic development. Based on the study inflation is mostly caused by the export
of agricultural products and the import of goods and services. Inflation and population growth
have a statistically significant negative correlation. Government spending and foreign direct
investment therefore have negligible positive and negative effects on inflation, respectively.
Inflation Effects on Hargeisa’s Low-Income Families
Inflation makes both domestic and international investors cautious about investing. Furthermore,
it devastates the country's trade terms by raising the prices of local goods above the regional and
international market prices. It is extremely challenging to accept or adjust to changes in
commodity prices in Waheen marketplace by the street vendors since they offer the lowest prices
of items that cannot be raised in price. Furthermore, the poor may be more reliant on state-
determined income than the rich, which is unaffected by inflation; as a result, inflation will
reduce their real income. And they discovered evidence to support their claim that inflation
harms the poor more than the rich. Findings of the study discovered that inflation impacted
Hargeisa's low-income families in the sectors of education and nutrition. To deal with inflation,
low-income households and vendors lowered either their cost of living or reduced the amount as
well as quality of their meals. Moreover, poor families often dropped their children away from
school because they couldn't pay the tuition fees. (Ali, 2017).

Jakarta’s WARTEG food stall phenomenon: Constraints and opportunites for integration

Warung Tegals, often known as wartegs, are food stalls that serve food and beverages to the
city's middle and lower-income citizens along Jakarta's streets. The consumers are both locals
and international office personnel who pick wartegs for their convenience, closeness, and
pricing. The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has been actively involved in
including government extension agents from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises for
firm development operations. Furthermore, the MSME are actively linked with warteg
organizations to mentor their micro-financing and revolving fund programs. Psychological
empowerment and the development of leaders from within the working-class community are
prerequisites for advising small and medium-sized businesses. The empowerment and
development of working-class leaders to advise small and medium-sized companies leads to the
endurance of social capital for preserving communal interests such as the local economy, the
nation's food security, and neighborhood safety and social welfare. This has the potential to
mobilize Jakarta's working class as engaged citizens and agents of social and economic
revolution. (Sugiana et al.,2019).
‘Day by day’: Trade bans, inflation send food prices soaring
According to the study by Batrawy et al. (2022) as global inflation soars, politicians are trying to
find methods to keep food affordable as people increasingly protest the rising cost of living.
According to Capital Economics, food costs have risen by about 14% in emerging markets and
more than 7% in advanced economies this year. Any rapid increase in food costs might cause a
crisis in nations where people spend at least a third of their income on food. According to Capital
Economics, people in developed markets will spend an additional $7 billion per month on food
and drinks this year and much of next year owing to inflation. According to a global assessment
by the The World Food Programme, 2.3 billion people were extremely or moderately hungry last
year. Sugar prices are projected to rise since Somalia relies significantly on white sugar imported
from India and a few brown sugars imported from Brazil. Food export limits aimed at
safeguarding domestic supply and containing inflation are one cause of rising food prices. All of
these factors will cause additional governments to impose food export limits, which will be felt
internationally. When Indonesia banned the export of palm oil for a month in April, palm oil
prices increased by at least 200%, according to analyst’s food export restrictions are
shortsighted, according to analysts, since they have a domino effect of driving up prices.

Food Inflation and food price volatility in India (trends and determinant)

Annual trends in food inflation in India over the previous decade reveal that various commodities
contributed to food inflation in different years and that no one commodity exhibits uniformly
high inflation. Based on a decomposition exercise, eggs, meat, fish, milk, grains, and vegetables
were the primary contributors to recent food inflation. Except for pigeon peas, the contribution of
pulses and edible oils remained low. Fruits and vegetables saw substantially higher intra-year
volatility, and high-weight commodities in the national consumption basket also experienced
very high inflation rates, raising concerns. The impacts of supply- and demand-side variables
appear to be almost similar for pulses. Demand-side variables appear to be driving the costs of
eggs, meat, fish, milk, and fruits and vegetables. Food inflation and its underlying reasons have
significant macroeconomic consequences for inflation and growth; also, food inflation has a
significant influence on welfare, particularly for the lower segments of the population. If food
price shocks are strongly transmitted into nonfood prices, as is common in many low-income
countries, the impact on headline inflation can be significant. (Devesh et al.,2017)
 Local Studies
Ordinary Filipinos to Feel the Pain of Depreciating Peso – Economists

The Philippines, like numerous other countries throughout the world, is experiencing severe food
inflation because of supply concerns and high fuel prices. The Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
declared a headline of inflation in the Philippines that fell to 6.3% every year of August from
6.4% in the previous month. The BSP attributed the moderation in headline inflation to slowing
down the price increases of heavily weighted food products such as meat and fish (Embudo,
2022).

Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index for the Bottom 30% Income Households
(2012=100): June 2022

Moreover, PSA supported the BSP’s declaration on the reason behind the high inflation in the
market. According to the research results of PSA, the previous month's increase in inflation had
been caused by elevated prices of non-alcoholic beverages and food with regard to its annual
growth rate in addition to the cost of transportation (Hallare, 2022). In addition, Mapa, a senior
economist, projected that more products in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket will be
affected by inflation, stating that firms had no alternative but to adjust the prices due to the
increased cost of production (2022).

One of the threats of economic inflation is the higher price increase in fuel. Since Philippines
import fuel from other countries it has become a huge threat on price increases. Higher fuel
prices make goods and services more expensive, particularly food items that need to be
transported from farms to markets. According to BSP, this could be attributed to the more
gradual price increases of food goods with high weights, such meat and fish.Year-on-year
vegetable inflation also fell to negative territory in August due in part to base effects from the
substantial price increase a year ago. At the same time, transport inflation decelerated given the
decline in domestic petroleum prices. (Hallare, 2022).
COVID-19 Labor Market Impact in the Philippines

Because of the economic inflation happening globally, especially in the Philippines, many
communities are affected by its impact including the street food vendors. The retail and
wholesale commerce sectors, as well as the hotel accommodations and food services sectors, are
projected to be the worst affected based on global projections. In the end of June 2020,
approximately 93% of employees globally will be living in countries that have implemented
some form of legislation as closing businesses (ILO, 2020).

The economy contracted for the first time in 22 years during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.49 On
6 August 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released an update that the GDP
decreased year-on-year by 49 Unless stated otherwise, reported numbers are based on the
National Accounts of the Philippines at constant 2018 prices. 16.5 percent in the second quarter
(Q2) of 2020, the lowest recorded quarterly growth since the start of the 1981 series. Examining
GDP from the expenditures view, depressed demand for goods and services manifested in
sluggish household final consumption expenditure, which weakened by 15.5 per cent in Q2 2020
compared to a growth of 5.6 per cent in Q2 2019. Government final consumption expenditure
accelerated by 22.1 per cent in Q2 2020 compared to a growth of 6.8 per cent in Q2 2019. (ILO,
2020).

COVID-19 and the world of work. Fifth edition

The pandemic's repercussions on the Philippine labor and informal market have already begun to
manifest themselves in the form of a rise in the unemployment rate, a reduction in labor force
participation, an increase of commodities, and a significant increase in the proportion of laborers
who really are employed but seem to be absent from the workplace. Sectoral assessments reveal
having a profound impact on wage rates in numerous services and industries subsectors. Prior to
COVID-19, the Philippines' economic growth path was driven by robust expansion in industry
and services, therefore the sudden shutdown of businesses in these two large sectors offers a
significant threat to the country's macroeconomic health in the future. future (ILO, 2020).
SHE-cession: Struggles of Filipinas amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

According to the Secretary General of the Metro Manila Vendor's Association (MMVA), across
different municipalities there is a women's organization of street vendors. This organization
consists of Filipino women who are mostly included in the informal sector. They are the ones
who were the severely impacted and the first ones to be affected by economic opportunities after
the COVID-19 national lockdown was imposed. However, these vendors were restricted and
prohibited from doing their business in the public market such as selling on the streets, cutting
them from their primary source of income and sales. As daily wage workers, street vendors had
little or no reserves to protect them from the severe impact of pandemic quarantine regulations
on the economy (Leyesa & Flores-Obanil, 2021).

Creative Marketing Strategies of Food Park Businesses in Batangas, Philippines

As time passed, new trends and activities are introduced in Batangas, one of which is the Food
Park. Food Park is a new and efficient means of introducing Filipinos to a better food culture.
They relished the opportunity to eat with their family and friends, making the event more
memorable. Food Park is modern and innovative, similar to a dining hall or food court, with
several stalls and stores. Participants in the study were 53 (100%) business owners/managers of
food parks in Lipa City and Batangas City that sell food and beverages. Most of the stalls in Lipa
City have already closed because they were the first to build food parks, and some of them
experienced financial failure as compared to food parks in Batangas City. According to the
study's findings, the majority of business owners that use innovative marketing methods have
been in business for more than a year. The business owners' marketing methods are effective
enough to attract clients. Food parks with an average customer of 31 and above use creative
branding marketing methods, whereas businesses in Lipa City use more creative branding
marketing strategies (Mangboo et al., 2020)
SYNTHESIS OF REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

The gathered studies above are collected from both international and local research that will fill
gaps in the literature or relevant studies. It will give information on the causes and effects of
economic inflation worldwide, and not just in the Philippines. The research variables are related
to other economic systems that are extensively used. There are a variety of reasons why the
frequently cited discrepancy between economic inflation and food stall vending is significant in
different countries. Furthermore, the research demonstrated the relevance of preserving and
emphasizing informal sectors which include different stall vending throughout the world in
connection to economic inflation. Despite the economic impact, it will provide reassurance that
the provided literature and studies are protected and available for the improvement of the
standard of living of food vendors, especially in the Philippines. Therefore, the Philippines'
economic growth, which is being driven by various influences on the expansion of industry and
services, as well as the unexpected closure and impact on food stall vendor income and/or sales
in informal sectors, will pose a significant challenge to the country's microeconomic and
macroeconomic health in the coming years.
 CHAPTER III
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Comparison of
food stall
 Survey  Assessed
vendors capital
 Documentary impacts and
and revenue.
analysis effect of
 Sales
 Data analysis economic
comparison in
 Statistical inflation to the
the year 2020
analysis food stall
to 2022.
vendors in
 Alternative
Citywalk
action to lessen
Tarlac.
production
cost.
 Changes in
customer
demand.
 Challenges
faced by the
food stall
vendors during
inflation.

Figure 1.0
Figure 1 describes the conceptual framework of the research wherein the research uses the input,
process, and output (IPO) model. In the presented figure, the input includes a comparison of food
stall vendors capital and revenue. With this input the researchers will be able to identify the
changes in their sales before and during inflation. Second, the sales comparison on sales for the
years 2020 to 2022. This data will enable the researchers to present a data involving the changes
and the pattern in the food stall vendors’ sales. The identification of possible alternate common
ingredients for the raw materials will also be determined in this study. Changes in customers
demand will also be important in this study to determine the challenges faced by food stall
vendors during the inflation.

In order to provide the output, the researcher will be constructing a survey to be answered by the
respondent or the food stall vendors in Citywalk. The results of the survey will be then analyzed
and summarized by the researchers. The researchers will then present the data with the result of
the survey. The expected output is for the researchers to be able determining the impacts of the
economic inflation to the food stall vendors in City Walk.
 CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides an overview of the research methods used by the researchers to conduct
this study. It provides information about the research design used to gather data. Also, the
process of data gathering, methods of gathering and the population of the study are included in
this chapter.

Research Design

Mixed method research design was applied in this investigation. It is meant to monitor and assess
the impacts of economic inflation on food stall vendors in Citywalk Tarlac in a
systemized manner, focusing on how street vendors see their current conditions as being affected
by inflation because of increased prices for goods and services. Its design might change to
provide the adaptability required for a complete understanding of the phenomenon at issue. In
order to answer the questions "what," "when," or "where," the researcher employed a multi-
method study technique. It follows a highly controlled study strategy, providing measurements to
validate each issue or opportunity and comprehend it in order to collect numerical data and non-
numerical data to obtain input from the food stall vendors through surveys, and questionnaires.

Sources of Data
The researcher opted that the survey/questionnaire are the best tools to use in the research design
and methodology. This method allows the researchers to efficiently collect the data they need.
The researchers will send a letter to the college dean and research adviser requesting their
permission to collect data, conduct the research, and choose the participants for the
study. Selected food stall vendors who are willing to participate will then have their prices, sales,
and earnings before and during inflation evaluated by the researchers. A formal letter of consent
will be given to the selected respondents for them to be aware of the study.
 This research collects data using a quantitative and qualitative method. Quantitative
research emphasizes the use of numerical data while quantitative methods are
 informations that cannot be counted, measured easily by numbers.The researcher uses
this to gather precise response in accordance with the research objective.
 This study focuses on the food stalls. These include snack food stalls, dessert food stalls,
ricemeals food stalls and beverage stalls. The responders won't be restricted to a certain
gender or age, making the survey impartial.

 The researchers created a survey/questionnaire, the researchers chose questionnaire

because it is a quick method to collect information from multiple respondents in an
efficient time. Respondents are offered a question and offered an answer which they must
choose from. This study is composed of twenty (20) respondents in Citywalk Tarlac City.
The researcher uses random sampling for every individual that is said to be part of the
scope of the study.

Methods of gathering
In order for the researchers to gather data, they will generate questions that will be answered by
the chosen respondents. The researchers will use the questioners to synthesize the data they have
collected from the respondents before formulating their conclusions. The researchers will take
the following measures to gather data from the respondents:

 The researchers will create surveys to assess the impact of inflation on Citywalk Tarlac’s
food stall vendors. The researcher will hand out the survey forms to the respondent’s
hand in hand. The respondents will then respond to it, and the researchers will aggregate
their responses.

The method used by the researchers is a multi-method quantitative and qualitative study wherein
the researcher used two or more different methods to gather information to analytically provide
answers to the problems.
 Sampling Method
This study will mainly focus on the impacts of economic inflation on the food stall vendors in
Citywalk Tarlac. In order for the researchers to gather information, they will be choosing twenty
(20) food stall vendors in Citywalk as the respondents. The respondents may include, Snack
stalls, rice meal stalls, beverage stalls, dessert stalls and etc.

By giving the respondents the questionnaire, survey the researchers will be able to gather
information and collect data that will enable them to answer the research question. The
researchers will use probability sampling in this research, wherein the respondents will be
randomly selected by the researchers and the gathered data will represent the whole population.
The researchers will be using simple random sampling in choosing their research respondents.
This sampling technique will be the most efficient and effective way for the researchers to get an
accurate and unbiased outcome of the study.
 CHAPTER V
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
This chapter shows and present the summary and result of the data gathered by the researchers.
The data will be presented numerically and by the use of graphs and explanations.

Research Subjects Profile

Sonyda Ichi-ban

This food business is a franchising company that own by Sonyda Food Corporation. They sell
Filipino Street food such as Kwek kwek, kikiam, squid balls, fried siomai, chicken balls, and
palamig.

Siomai King

This business is known as “Ang hari ng Siomai” it started in 2010 where they serve 5pcs. Of
siomai in every order. It serve not just ordinary siomai they have different variety of siomai that
has a twist of Filipino, Chinese and Japanese taste. Together with their siomai also have
gulaman.

Homey Cannoli

Homey Cannoli is inspired by an Italian pastry dessert, this food stall offers different Italian and
Filipino desserts in a box or tub. Homey Connoli offers low and reasonable prices when it comes
to their products.

FCJ Pizza

FCJ Pizza one of the most common franchised pizza shops that offers affordable prices with
different flavors.
Swirls Ice Cream

Swirls Ice cream is one of the fast-rising ice cream stores that has widespread branches in Luzon.
It is managed by Riggs Creamery and one of their investors is Spinner enterprise, INC (SEI) and
opened their store for franchise. It specializes in soft ice cream, blended ice cream, floats, dipped
cones, and sundaes.

Waffle time

Waffle time is a company that started in September 1998 in the province of Iloilo Philippines.
The first outlet was in The Atrium Mall in Iloilo City. Their product line is a variety of flavored
filled waffles which include American Hotdog, German Cheese Franks, Ham and Cheese,
Cheese Delite, Bavarian Cheese Franks, Belgian Chocolate, Bavarian Cream, Tuna Salad,
Canadian Bacon, Swiss Chocolate, Ultimate Ube, Pineapple Pleasure, Mango Magic, Spicy
Chicken dog, and New York Beef Franks.

Seoul Food House

Seoul Food House is one of the Korean snacks stalls that offers favorite Korean street comfort
foods with a modern twist and very affordable price. Seoul Food house sell different variety of
Korean street food like Odeng, Twigim, Mandu, Corndog, baby gimbab, gimari and also, they
offer combo mix to taste the all Korean street foods product.

Angel’s Pizza

Angel’s Pizza is one of the best and least expensive pizzas and delicious hand-tossed or thin crust
pizzas, as well as a selection of pastas, side dishes, and desserts, are all offered of this pizza stall,
which boasts of employing fresh hand-tossed dough and pure tomato sauce. It was founded in
2009 and it was now one of the fastest growing companies in the Philippines.
Gorbees Snack Bar

This food stall sells cupcakes and different desserts they have variety of flavors, frostings, sizes,
styles, toppings, and decorations. This is their chosen product because most people like it
especially the children and it is very affordable cupcakes.

3m’s Butchilicious

3m's a food enterprise that offers affordable and delicious snacks such as butchi, fresh lumpia,
nachos etc. Their food stall is located at City walk because in this place there a lot of people and
students who want to eat and buy their food.

Minimalist Coffee

Minimalist coffee shop is popular in City Walk because of their different flavors such as Coffee
Americano, iced caramel macchiato and other coffees they sell. Due to its affordable price it is
one of the popular coffee shop in city walk.

Ella Corndog Station

Ella Corndog station offers Corndog, Ramen and Tteokbokki and other Korean foods these kinds
of food are popular today, which enable the enterprise to be patronage by many.

Delfio’s

Delfio’s is a beverage stall that sells drinks like Palamig and Milk tea. Delfio’s choose to sell it in
an affordable price since most of their customers are students.
Samgyup Express

Is a food stall that offers samgyupsal meals in a cup or bowl, most people nowadays are fond of
samgyupsal the idea of samgyup express is to serve people their food in a short period of time.

Takoyaki Ichiyaki

Takoyaki Ichiyaki is one of the affordable foods in city walk it's a Japanese food. Takoyaki is a
tasty, fried ball with octopus pieces cooked on a particular Takoyaki grill, which helps form the
ball shape, it has a different flavor such as ham, octopus and cheese etc.

Jinju Manju

Jinju manjo dessert is a pioneer to spread out the tasty food at a reasonable price in city walk. Jin
ju manjo has a different type of flavor that you can taste such as dark chocolet, ube, creamy
custard, salted caramel and strawberry flavor. Jin ju manjo aims at delivering the authentic and
trendy Korean food to make the customers feel happy.

Gulaman Station

Samalamig, also known as palamig this is the beverages station in city walk, this is what want of
people because the drinks in city walk has any of the various kinds of sweet chilled Filipino
beverages, that usually include gulaman, pandan, ube chocolate buko etc.

Burger Burger

Kerito Food Stall is a fresh and unique take on to-go food concept with both food and drink in a
single cup! Founders arrived on the brand name, Keritoh, from a slang Filipino phrase, “Keri ko
‘to” or “You can do it”. This food is very cheap that why a lot of students in city walk love this
burger fries and drinks.
Lugaw station

Lugaw station is a stall eatery that offers the best value-for money lugaw dishes in city walk.
Lugaw Station, as the name suggests, serves one of Filipino’s food favorite, Lugaw. You can
have it plain or with different ingredients mixed into it.\

Dumpling King

Is a food cart franchise business that offers different dumplings, one of the franchised carts is
located at Citywalk Tarlac City. It is trendy for students since they also offer rice meals in a very
affordable price.
 Tabulation of Results

Does Economic Inflation affect your business?

YES NO

18 Respondents 2 Respondents

How much did the product’s price change?

Increased by P 1-50 pesos 8 Respondents

The Price still the same 12 Respondents

Decreased by 1-50 pesos None

What raw ingredient/s affect your product cost the most?

OIL SUGAR FLOUR CONDIMEN FRESH

TS FRUITS AND
VEGTABLES

9 Respondents 11 Respondents 12 Respondents 8 Respondents 7 Respondents

With the rising prices of raw ingredients by any chance did your change or substitute any
ingredients? If yes, what did you change?

YES NO

1 Respondent 19 Respondents
How did you avoid too much price increase in your product?

Reduce or change portion size serving 8 Respondents

Offered bundle or sharing promo 9 Respondents

Changed and removed some item on the original 3 Respondents

recipe

How did the change in your product’s price affect the demand for your product in terms of sales?

Sales decrease around 1-5 % 4 Respondents

Sales decrease around 6-10% 0 Respondent

Sales decrease above 10% 1 Respondent

Sales still the same 11 Respondents

Sales increase around 1-5% 4 Respondents

Sales increase around 6-10% 0 Respondent

Sales increase above 10% 0 Respondent

Does your expenses in electricity, LPG and gasoline increases?

YES NO

7 Respondents 13 Respondents
What other expenses that increase due to inflation that affect your business income?

Rental Transportation & delivery Marketing

charge materials

15 Respondents 9 Respondents 6 Respondents

What business strategy did you change or apply to survive the economic inflation?

Bundles & Cost Marketing & Innovate & Cutting

Promos Reduction advertising adding new Expenses
product

11 Respondents 5 Respondents 9 Respondents 3 Respondents 15 Respondents

 EFFECT OF ECONOMIC INFLATION IN FOOD
STALL BUSINESSES IN CITYWALK TARLAC CITY

NO 10

YES 90

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Base on the survey and the data gathered to the food stall businesses in Citywalk, Tarlac City
90% of the food businesses in Citywalk was affected by the inflation and 10% of are not affected
to the inflation. The businesses who got affected by the inflation stated that they have been
totally affected specially at the beginning of pandemic wherein all of the business is either close
or has a limited time to operate. The deliveries of raw materials are also delay due to restrictions
and there are sometimes that there’s no sufficient supply to them to produce their product.
Somehow the operation of their businesses is slowly going back. The flow of the market is little
by little going back like before. But still they need to do more adjustment to cover the losses they
have been thru these past two years and now this economic inflation is another problem and
struggle for the businesses.
 How much did the product's price change?

Increased by 1-
50 pesos
The price still 40%
the same
60%

Increased by 1-50 pesos The price still the same Decreased by 1-50 pesos

If there’s struggle in supply and adjustment to the cost of production of the certain product
there’s a probability that it will reflect to the changes in price. Forty percent (40%) of the food
businesses in increased their product pricing. A big loss or may lead to closure of the business if
they won’t be doing adjustment, some of the major and primary ingredients increased much.
They provide this solution rather than changing the quality and the taste of their product. The
other sixty percent (60%) is able to sustain the pricing of their product. They chose to adjust
some recipe and change raw materials brands to cut their expenses. But there are also some
businesses sustain their price without sacrificing the quality of their product because they change
some of their procedure in preparing that doesn’t affect food taste. Other businesses can still
manage to maintain their price because it can cover the expenses and earn from their original
pricing. There is a bit decrease in their income, but they maintain the sales and their clients.
What raw ingredient/s affect your product cost the most

FLOUR

SUGAR

OIL
CONDIMENTS
FRESH VEGETABLES & FRUITS

Common basic needs in cooking increase. In Citywalk food businesses flour is the number one
ingredient that affect the costing of their product and according to Bureau of Labor statistics
flour prices rose to twenty three percent. Food business in Citywalk that uses flour base product
like pizza dough, cupcakes, cookies, Manju, and even street food got affected on the increased of
flour price. Second is sugar there is also time wherein sugar supply in our country is insufficient.
This period sugar price is very high, due to shortage of sugar most of the grocery also limit the
consumer in buying this item wherein one kilo per person only. Third from the ingredients that
affect food costing in Citywalk is oil. Oil is one of the most useful kitchen supplies even in every
household. Since most of the food businesses uses oil because their food product is fried base
food like street foods, and even their sauces like chili sauce consist of oil. Condiments is fourth
on the list that affect the costing of the food product in Citywalk, since condiments is already
expensive, with the inflation the condiments prices got more expensive. These affects food
businesses product cost since condiments plays a vital role in in cooking. And last from the list is
the increase in fresh goods like fruits and vegetables. The daily price changes in these fresh
goods affect them. Fruits and vegetable prices in the market is unstable there is a movement on
their price daily. One of the fresh good that highly affect food stalls is onion which is too pricey
nowadays.
 Did you change or substi tute any ingredients ?
5%

95%

YES NO

One of the strategies that businesses did is changing or substituting their ingredients. Around five
percent (5%) of the food businesses in Citywalk change their recipe in order to reduce their
expenses. Some of the lessen a certain ingredient, others innovate and try to use other
alternatives that is not pricey and affect the taste of the food too much. Despite the changing
price of the cost of production there is ninety five percent (95%) of the food businesses in
Citywalk did not change and substitute ingredients. One reason is that they refuse to change any
ingredient is it can affect their customers. Some business tried to do it but a lot of feedbacks that
came up to them that their product change and the sales decreases due to these changes. And the
researchers also learn that most of the food in Citywalk are franchise meaning they have their
standard to maintain that are coming from the main branch. Their products are mostly ready to
cook goods like kikiam, fish ball, and other frozen goods. Even in drinks there is a standard
measurement in preparing it like in coffee shops and palamig drinks.
 HOW DID YOU AVAOID TOO MUCH PRICE
INCREASE IN YOUR PRODUCT ?
Adjust the original recipe

Offered Bundle or for sharing promos

Reduce Portion Serving

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

As much as possible businesses wants their products to be affordable. In order for food stalls to
do it they took some actions to prevent increasing product price. Offering bundle or for sharing
promos wherein fifty percent (50%) of the businesses in Citywalk used this strategy. Since the
market is slowly going back to how it was before, and most food stalls in Citywalk’s target
market are students. Offering promo and bundles for this target consumer is one of the good
strategies they did. They said most of their consumer eat by group or by twos it is very rear for
them to encounter students and employee to have their meal individually. Other than promos
they also reduce the serving portion of their product around forty percent (40%) used this
method. There are a lot of consumers who have a tight budget and willing to spend the same
price even the serving portion is less, what important to them is to taste the original flavor
without spending too much on food. There are some techniques also that consumer reduce the
serving without noticing by consumer they use their platting skills. Then around five percent
(5%) adjusted the original recipe.
 Changes in Sales of Food Businesses

5%
20%
20%

55%

Increased 1-5% Increased 6-10 % Increased above 10% Same

Decreased 1-5% Decreased 6-10% Decreased above 10%

In terms of sales, food businesses in Citywalk have around fifty-five (55%) percent of their sales
is still the same. One factor of why their sales still same is food is a basic needs no matter happen
at the end of the day people will eatand there will always be allotted budget for them on
purchasing food. Around twenty percent (20%) of the businesses in Citywalk increase their sales
around one to five percent. The trend and hype on their chosen food to offer gives them an
increase on their sales. But there’s also twenty percent (20%) of the food businesses in Citywalk
decrease their sales around one to five percent. One of the reasons is the competency in this kind
of goods is too high. Some businesses state also that their product nowadays is not on demand
due to modernization, and they need to do innovation on their product.
 DOES YOUR EXPENSES IN
ELECTRICITY,LPG,GASOLINE INCREASE?

NO
35%

YES
65%

YES NO

With the increase in price of electricity generation charge, LPG, and gasoline sixty five percent
(65%) of the food stall businesses in Citywalk were affected by this price increase and thirty five
percent (35%) of them did not feel the increase on their expenses.
Other than the costing of the product there are also other expenses that increase and affect the
businesses income, Rental is one of the reasons of income decrease of the businesses in
Citywalk. Fifty percent (50%) of the food businesses in Citywalk got affect in rental increase but
understand that increase is due the inflation buildings also make sure to maintain buildings safety
environment for our business and for our customer. The convenient and comfy surrounding
attracts customer also. Then due to increase in diesel and gasoline some of the free delivery of
supplies or low delivery charges nowadays even delivery fees increased. With the increase of
transportation and delivery charges thirty percent (30%) of them are affected. Then the increase
in marketing materials twenty percent (20%) of the businesses get affected. Businesses double
their marketing strategy nowadays to hype their product and increase their product promotion.
Citywalk’s food stall businesses provide different planning and strategies on how to survive the
inflation. The first thing they did is cutting their expenses. First thing is electricity which is one
of the problems of the society the continue growing of generation charge. Then the expenses in
deliveries and transportation they make sure they maximize the order of the delivery charges of
their supply and even in transporting their product to consumer. Even in payroll other businesses
lessen their manpower. Other food kiosk before inflation each day they have two employees to
serve but they lessen it one person per duty. What other businesses did is they didn’t remove
employee they just lessen their time duties if their business operate eight hours each of them will
have a four-hour salary instead two employees in eight-hour operation of the business. Then
bundles and promos, which is very useful specially in increasing their sales. Innovate and adding
some new product is also their other way to increase their sales to. Food product is very wide in a
way with your creative thinking you can innovate your original product to come up a new
version of it like offer new and unique flavors. And even adding some new product to offer that
is a great combination to their product. Cost reduction as stated in the other survey question other
businesses try to change and adjust their original recipe, it is their way of reducing their cost to
produce their product like adding extenders or even changing the usual procedure or cooking it.
There are some businesses change some of the brands that are inexpensive from the usual brand
they use. Then marketing and advertising, nowadays hyping business especially on social media
platform help their business to attract more consumers and it is one way of the businesses in
Citywalk to hype their sales also.
 CHAPTER VI

Conclusions and Recommendations

This chapter states the conclusion of the researchers according to their findings on the impacts
of economic inflation to the street food vendors in Citywalk Tarlac City. The conclusion that will
be presented is based on the researcher’s analysis on their gathered data which were answered by
their respondents.

Conclusion

The main purpose of this study is to determine the impacts of economic inflation to the food stall
vendors in Citywalk Tarlac City. Based on the data gathered and analysis the following
conclusion were attained:

1. Most of the food stall vendors in Citywalk Tarlac were affected by the rising prices of
supplies and utilities. And in order to survive the threat of inflation the food stall owners
and vendors took some actions to avoid sudden price increase on their products.

2. Some of the food stalls in Citywalk Tarlac changed and increase their product prices
unlike before the inflation. Some of the food stall vendors increase their product price for
around one to fifty pesos and most of them stayed on the original price and adjust and
reduce their product cost.

3. With the inflation most basic ingredients such as sugar, oil, flour, condiments, and fresh
produce increased. This affects the food vendors expenses and sales. Since their price are
set to be fixed for at least a month, with the unstable prices of raw materials their sales
were hugely affected by it.

4. Some modifications were made by the food stall vendors in reducing their cost and
marketing their product some vendors started to offer bundled or combo products to
market and attract more customers. Some of the food stall vendors cut their expenses by
changing brands of raw ingredients from their original recipes. And few of them
 innovated and add more products to gain more sales. Also, some of the vendors reduced
and change their portion size to gain more sales and avoid price increase.

5. Other utilities such rent, delivery and transportation, marketing, electricity, LPG and
Gasoline is also a huge contributor on the food stall vendors expenses since all of those
mentioned increase their prices. With this the some of the income of the food stall
businesses decreased.

6. Overall, the biggest impact of economic inflation to the food stall businesses is the high
expenses and cost for them to market and make their products. This affects their
customers perception, income, product prices and even the quality of their product and
services.

Recommendation

Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following recommendations are hereby
recommended:

 Food Stall vendors

The measures they took in order to survive in the midst of inflation should still be applied
as long as they need to. Cutting cost, innovating product, offering bundles, changing
portion sizes and modifications on products are the best solution to resolve the problem.
But it is recommended not to modify the recipe much for it can lead them in losing
customers.

 Future Microenterprises
It is best to study and determine the capabilities of your enterprise, preparedness and
quick actions are required to survive the food industry. There are sudden changes in any
industry to be successful in a venture it is best to have a critical mind just like what the
food stalls action did.

 LGU
This research will be relevant for them and can be a basis to the possible actions that they
can implement to help the businesses in scenarios like inflation.