From burger flipper to franchiser
BusinessWorld
02 October 2019
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2019 has concluded its search for the country’s most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc. with the participation of co-presenters Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange. In the next few weeks, Businessworld will feature each of the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2019.
BILLIE JEAN KING once said, “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” In sports and in business, those who work hard and persevere are rewarded.
Rolandrei “Zark” Varona, 34, entered the game in unfavorable conditions with a failed franchise venture and dwindling capital.
Nevertheless, he paired his natural business acumen with an unwavering tenacity and grew from a humble stall owner to a food franchise powerhouse.
Although he lost his father at the age of two, he recalls many fond childhood memories with his mother and sister — especially their family meals after Sunday mass. The restaurants they frequented left a deep impression on him and by high school, he had his heart set on becoming a chef.
“I knew that I wanted my own restaurant someday,” he said.
It was natural that he went on to study Hotel and Restaurant Management in the Philippine Women’s University.
Even before graduating, Mr. Varona started with capital from his allowance and his salary as a paid intern for a famous steakhouse. He later had the opportunity to join a cruise ship as a cook, saving up most of his earnings for his future business.
Mr. Varona shared that he battled homesickness, but his determination to put up his own restaurant and the continuing support of his family pulled him through.
After two years at sea, he was 23 and had enough savings to start his own business. Wanting to learn the ins and outs of running a business, Mr. Varona decided to purchase a noodle house franchise. He personally filed the papers and got the necessary permits to open his stall in Divisoria.
He quickly realized that running a business was not easy. After a few months of operation, his stall was earning barely enough to break even and he was slowly using up his capital. He decided to close it down.
But Mr. Varona never faltered, he continued scouting for potential business locations. He found a small space along Taft Avenue, but thought that a food cart would not match the market.
However, something about the location kept drawing him back until he finally decided to create his own concept. He studied what kind of food would sell in the predominantly student market in the area. He realized that there wasn’t any burger joint with student-friendly prices. As a burger lover himself, Mr. Varona often felt frustrated that there were few options between fast food and gourmet burgers. With his experiences from travelling and his skill in cooking, he developed a concept that would address the market gap.
With a portion of his savings gone, Mr. Varona borrowed P200,000 from his mother to complete his P600,000 initial investment to make Zark’s Burgers a reality. Mr. Varona was in charge of almost everything — from filing permits, menu development, construction and interior design.
In 2009, Zark’s Burgers was finally unveiled to the public with a promise to deliver burgers that are fresh, huge and great.
Named after himself, Zark’s Burgers sports theme reflected Mr. Varona’s like for sports, big food and value for money.
“I don’t serve typical cheeseburgers,” Mr. Varona said of his culinary creations.
Customers have over 20 burgers to choose from — most of which are under P250 — with interesting variations such as the bacon wrapped burger and glazed donut burger.
Inspired by TV show Man vs. Food, Mr. Varona developed his own burger challenges — Tombstone and Jawbreaker — that captured his young market. The highly popular Jawbreaker challenge, where the winner wins a free shirt and has his picture included in a hall of fame, has become a standard dare for barkadas — inadvertently becoming part of youth culture.
In just seven months of operation, Zark’s Burgers was able to earn back Mr. Varona’s initial investment. Mr. Varona admits he did not expect the warm welcome he received from students. With this initial success, he was able to expand the original 16-seater space to 120 seats.
Soon enough, he started opening branches across Metro Manila and eventually entered the Visayas and Mindanao markets.
As he expanded, he started to struggle managing the company alone and realized that he couldn’t develop a sustainable business by himself.
“I was learning but it wasn’t at the same pace with the company’s growth,” Mr. Varona said.
Seeing his own limitation, he professionalized his team.
As a young entrepreneur, Mr. Varona knows he has much to learn and looks to seasoned professionals to gain insights on how to run the business. When he found out that his food cost was high, compared to industry standards, he approached one of his former mentors and worked with him to slowly improve efficiency at Zark’s Burgers.
While Mr. Varona was initially apprehensive about the possibility of franchising, he recognized the difficulty and cost of managing branches outside of Metro Manila — especially in the Visayas and Mindanao. He realized that in order to grow the business and eventually expand outside the Philippines, he had to franchise. He hired an expert on franchising and created a system for franchising. He would also partner with his long-time supplier to put up commissaries for burger patties and seasonings.
Now on its 10th year, Zark’s Burgers boasts of 60 branches nationwide and employs over 800 people across all facets of its operations.
For Mr. Varona, however, success is being able to do what you love and having the ability to give back. “Cheesy as it sounds, I want the economy itself to grow,” Mr. Varona said.
Apart from his regular outreach programs, he wants to transform lives by imparting to aspiring entrepreneurs the skills and knowledge needed to start their own business. He provides mentorship through Endeavor Philippines, Resto Coach, Go Negosyo and giving talks in universities.
Like many others, Mr. Varona embarked on his entrepreneurial journey armed with a dream. Unlike many, he never lost sight of his goal and persisted through every challenge. He tells aspiring entrepreneurs, “Look into yourself and find your purpose. From there,
