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Cooling down in this summer's very humid atmosphere is something Cebuanos love to do ? but now they can do it with a twist.
While some are satisfied with drinking cold water, some go for a healthy and flavorful combo: frozen yogurt with sprinkles of candies or fruits as toppings.
It was for this reason that Mitchel H. Colina, an entrepreneur in his late twenties, decided to open his own frozen yogurts counter in SM City Cebu, which he named Frizberry Yogurt.
Frizberry Yogurt just opened on the second floor of SM City Cebu across Salon de Rose on Monday, March 8, and already people are flocking to get a taste of the newest offering in the market.
Colina said he got the idea for the business in the summer of last year when he went to the US for a vacation and to visit his family who are already living there.
?Yogurt is a big hit in the US, and I thought that it would really be a hit here, too, considering that the market of Cebu likes to try out many things, and considering the very humid atmosphere of Cebu,? he said.
Upon coming home, Colina started studying the market first, including Manila. He found out that while Manila already had several frozen yogurt shops, Cebu did not have many. He thus decided to introduce his product in Cebu.
?I started by applying for a space in SM which took a very long time because there wasn?t a space available right away when I applied,? Colina said.
While he was waiting for SM's feedback, Colina then started to process all the other things needed for the business like where he would get his supply of yogurt from, to business permits as well as product development.
Because there was already a frozen yogurt that had also opened in SM, Colina thought of offering something different, which he did by also offering strawberry-flavored yogurt aside from the regular flavor, which is what the other brand was offering.
?I also experimented with different toppings and had my friends and relatives as my critics,? Colina said, saying he enjoyed every part of the product development, which he did right in his kitchen.
Colina said that even if he was not able to meet his target of being the pioneer in the frozen yogurt business, he was still thankful that someone did it first because he could also learn from the mistakes or good concepts of his competitor.
For his yogurt, Colina said that he really took time to look for a good especially for the strawberry-flavored variant.
?My yogurt is sourced from abroad and they have the best quality yogurt there is in the world,? Colina said, declining to mention where exactly for business reasons.
Setting up the business, Colina said he spent around P300,000 to P400,000, which he got from his gasoline dealership business also in Cebu.
?That amount already includes all the equipment and the setting up of the counter in SM,? he said.
Colina said that Cebu is a good place to invest in because it is the second most developed city next to Manila in the country.
He hopes to open more outlets soon.
?Maybe after six months I will open more Frizberry outlets here in Cebu as well as other cities like Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo or Davao,? he said.
Finishing a degree in advertising in 2005 in one of the major universities in Cebu, Colina said that his passion has always been into doing his own business and helping create jobs for Cebu.
?I have hired five people for my first Frizberry outlet and more in my gasoline station, I hope to give more in the future,? he said.
