#LifeLokal: Taste Filipino delicacies through Manila Creamery's 'Tatak Pinoy' gelato flavors
Summer means spending more time outside, going to beaches, or enjoying time with your family or loved ones. But more than taking advantage of the lovely weather, it also signals the perfect moment to indulge in cool sweets.
One local ice cream shop that offers these chilly treats is Manila Creamery, but more than its signature gelato, it aims to uplift the Filipino nationality with its delectable desserts.
Jason Go, one of the co-founders of Manila Creamery, formulates the recipes and creates the flavor and other creative things for the brand with the help of co-founder Paolo Reyes. Go says Manila Creamery is rooted in their profound passion for food.
"It emerged as one of our initial ideas when we were looking to start a business after college. Fortunately, our first trials were successful, so we found no need to iterate," Go shared with PhilSTAR L!fe, adding that its business name came from the idea that the best way for them to stand out was just being themselves—which for them meant incorporating dynamic Filipinism into their brand.
"We thought there was a gap na Filipinos didn't love local products as much, at least nine years ago. That's why we decided to just be ourselves and call it Manila Creamery."
As a gelato shop, Manila Creamery aims to localize the concept of Italian gelato in a "more" modern Filipino setting wherein customers can feel nostalgia while having a dessert.
"You have all these things where you've enjoyed maybe in the past in one of your gatherings or where maybe someone that you try something in the past, and we try to create it in this one format, where it's all you know, gelato ice cream," Go told L!fe.
He added, "It's just that we started with something that we like, which is desserts and ice cream. And the hit rate was good."
"We studied in Italy how to make real gelato. From there, I brought it back here. But the main difference is we didn't brand it as Italian. We branded it as local," he added.
Speaking more about its flavors, Go said that making its gelato flavors doesn't have to be super innovative. They make what people love, including its recent flavors, Thai Milk Tea Creme Brulee, and the set of flavors from Solenn Manila, personally curated by Solenn Heausaff.
In case you didn't know, Manila Creamery has seven branches nationwide: Alabang Town Center, UP Town Center, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, Vertis North, Evia Lifestyle Center, and one in Mactan, Cebu.
How does your Filipino heritage/culture influence your brand values and identity?
We reflect our culture primarily through our products, creating flavors that resonate with Filipinos. Our brand merges traditional Filipino elements with a modern twist. Secondarily our brand portrays the Filipino colors, design, and feel. From the start, we chose the name Manila Creamery because, at the time of our founding (9 years ago), most brands were international franchises so we saw a clear gap in the industry.
There are so many competitive brands within the world of food/dessert right now, how do you make your brand stand out from the rest?
We focus on simplicity and fulfilling people's desires or cravings, sprinkling in some surprises along the way. Ultimately, our goal is to become a brand that is dearly loved by Filipinos.
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What other obstacles have you faced while creating your brand and how have you overcome them?
The primary challenge was convincing people to try our products. At that time, local products weren't very popular, and our pricing faced scrutiny because customers often compared our prices with those of Magnolia/Selecta gallons, despite the significant differences in product.
Nowadays, the challenge is to scale our business and make things more accessible to Filipinos all over the country.
How do you want your customers to feel when eating your products?
We aim for our products to stir a significant emotional response in our customers, whether it's a sense of joy, nostalgia, or excitement. Our goal is to create an experience that goes beyond taste, making each bite an opportunity for our customers to connect with a memory, celebrate a moment, or explore something entirely new and delightful.
Are you going to expand your product line?
Five years from now, I think we want to give access to many Filipinos. So whether you're in Pampanga, Cebu, or Davao, hopefully, we'll be there with you. And then, hopefully, we'll also reach Filipinos abroad. So maybe in the US, Singapore, I have no idea. I don't know; I have no idea if that's in five years, too. But if you get the vision, we're just trying to share Filipino products with all Filipinos, and then after all the Filipinos have been given access. Let's share it with the world.