Despite the economic crisis brought by Covid-19 pandemic, Minute Burger, one of the oldest and leading Buy 1, Take 1 burger brands in the Philippines has continued to grow in 2020, adding  new franchise stores to its over 600 existing stores across the country.

Filipino firm Leslie Corporation, which opened its food service division in 1982, aggressively opened new Minute Burger stores during the pandemic year. It opened 10 new Minute Burger simultaneously in one grand opening event in Zamboanga City, Rizal Province, and Manila Area in October 2020. Another 59 new stores also opened in other key cities across the country between July and November 2020.

As a result, Minute Burgers mushroomed to over 600 stores in a year where many establishments closed their shops. 

“We place our trust in our franchisee partners and made them our priority during this period to ensure they receive the necessary financial and business support from us to continue to weather the crisis,” said Chai Catan, Leslie Corporation’s Franchisee Recruitment Manager.

Catan shared that very early into the announcement of the first lockdown, Minute Burger prepared concrete recovery and contingency plans to clearly outline the way forward for its brand and for the franchisees. This provided stability and confidence within its teams and franchisee network.

The Minute Burger team also fully supported its franchisees with store opening guidance and socially-distanced opening celebrations. Prior to opening, all stores and franchisees received intensive store operations training, which has since been adapted to suit a hybrid and online approach.

Adding to the growth of Minute Burger brand is also its agile pivot to online delivery services. Minute Burger worked quickly with their franchisees to scale delivery adoption within their network from just 4 stores in early January this year to over 446 delivery-ready stores nationwide in October, with more in the activation pipeline until the end of this year.

“We embraced the changes with an open mind. Rather than accept that stores should likely close and wait out the pandemic, Minute Burger aggressively pivoted to new sales channels on online platforms for online ordering and online delivery,” Catan added.

In addition, Minute Burger worked closely with local officials to ensure that their network was always compliant with local government unit regulations. The store design and operations teams worked closely with the Franchisees to transform the store processes and physical store design to adapt to the new safety standards that LGUs now require, so that their stores can continue to operate and serve their customers and communities, safely.

“Our customers’ and crew’s safety remain our #1 priority during this time. We continue to support our government efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus. We strongly believe that if there was a safer way to conduct business during this time, we would find it,” Catan said.

Minute Burger has been serving Filipinos with affordable and delicious food and Buy 1, Take 1 burger products since 1982. 

“Our success is attributed to our franchisees who are resilient, cooperative, and committed to working together and continuing their business despite the restrictions and new regulations brought about by the pandemic,” Catan said.

Leslie Corporation is one of the oldest local companies that has been serving Filipinos for s60 years since 1960. It formally established its Food Service Division in 1982 when Minute Burger’s first store was opened. Leslie is best known for its snack brands loved by Filipinos across the globe such as Clover Chips and Farmer John Premium Potato Chips, and for its affordable and delicious Buy 1, Take 1 burger brand, Minute Burger.