With eagerness, hard work, and determination, pursuing one’s passion can bring success, and fortunate are those who have found the perfect balance to marry their passions with their businesses.
Banapple’s story started with a couple’s love of baking. From preparing their well-loved pies and cheesecake for friends and family, to eventually supplying desserts to some of Manila’s well known restaurants and cafes, Banapple- the creation of businessman GJ Jimenez and his wife Maricel Jimenez - is now known for its many baked goods and comforting dishes.
Following its early success, Banapple opened its doors to customers at its first branch along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, a convenient and accessible location to better serve the growing customer base who wanted more delectable desserts and comfort food. Banapple was then established, taking its name from the two main ingredients of the brand’s best-selling banoffee pie and apple caramel crumble pie.
Delivering comfort and convenience with Grab
As the business grew and adapted to the changing behavior of its consumers, Banapple joined Grab as a GrabFood merchant-partner in 2018. Jimenez, who now serves as the company’s president, was himself a long-time Grab user and had good personal experiences with the platform.
“I was using Grab as a consumer, starting with GrabCar and then GrabExpress and GrabFood. I really saw and experienced how reliable and how useful Grab has been for me and other people. It’s the stability of the Grab platform that really pushed me to partner with Grab for Banapple since we want to work with a partner who has all the right technology and services all in one place,” shared Jimenez
Rising amidst the pandemic
As with many other businesses in the food industry, Banapple experienced difficulties due to the uncertainties for both businesses and consumers brought by the pandemic.
At the start of the lockdown in March 2020, Banapple initially had to close the majority of its stores for 30 days due to government restrictions and safety protocols. Everything was up in the air for the restaurant. While the team was uncertain of what was next, with high hopes they continued operating, opening different branches one at a time to continue serving a taste of normalcy to customers.
Jimenez is thankful to have an existing partnership with GrabFood as Banapple’s delivery partner, as it helped the brand cope and adjust to the new normal. For example, Grab initiatives such as the Safer Meals program helped strengthen consumer’s confidence in food deliveries.
“Buti na lang we were with GrabFood which continued its operations even during these challenging times. We have our in-store deliveries as well but Grab really helped us during those dark thirty days when we were trying to figure out how to operate, take care of our employees, and remain safe amidst the pandemic. Grab helped us stay connected with our consumers through deliveries,” says Jimenez.
Adapting to the new normal
Banapple also joined GrabFood as an exclusive merchant and was able to benefit from the platform’s long distance feature which allows the brand to deliver to customers within a 10-kilometer radius. The steady orders through GrabFood, along with orders from the brand’s own online website and delivery fleets, helped Banapple continue serving more consumers by bringing their favorite Banapple dishes conveniently to their doorsteps.
Now with all 31 stores operating via take-out, delivery, and at limited dine-in capacity again, Banapple remains hopeful that better days are ahead, and, in particular, is looking forward to welcoming both regular and new consumers to stores to dine-in once restrictions have been lifted. But for now, Banapple is content with the convenience that Grab has brought both to the brand and its patrons. By having a trusted online delivery partner such as GrabFood, this has helped Banapple continuously delight regular and new consumers with its products, even if just at home.