MANG INASAL

HISTORY OF MANG INASAL

The company was started by Edgar J. Sia II, a young enterprising architect, who owned his first business at the age of twenty. Sia engaged in the food business at twenty-six years of age, opening the first Mang Inasal branch in December 2003 at the Robinsons Mall Carpark in Iloilo City. 

Mang Inasal, which means “Mr. Barbecue” in the local Ilonggo dialect of the western Visayas region, from where Sia hails, almost missed out on its name. When he tapped his father for the $65,000 capital he needed, the elder Sia agreed to the loan but shot down the name, saying it had too many letters. Jollibee and Chowking, the country’s biggest chains, had eight letters, an auspicious number, while Mang Inasal had ten. Stumped, Sia hung up but quickly called his father back; Banco de Oro, the Philippines’ largest bank, also had ten characters and was doing well.

When a 250-meter slot in Robinson’s mall in Iloilo was presented to Sia, he immediately reserved it despite not knowing what to put up yet. With P2.4 million of borrowed money, Sia decided on inasal as the most viable dish after analyzing the different culinary specialty of the 16 regions. It was a unique entry to the saturated chicken business.

Hence, in December 12, 2003, he opened the first store of Mang Inasal. Sia positioned Mang Inasal as an alternative quick service restaurant that serves charcoal-grilled chicken, wrapped its rice in banana leaf and uses bamboo sticks for its skewers. He also offered unlimited rice, becoming the first quick-service restaurant to do so.

At the beginning, Sia had to work long hours and helped in the cleaning of the store. After which, he would prepare and marinate the chicken for the next day. Sia also had no system for running the operation and no commissary to supply the raw materials. Not long, Sia’s Mang Inasal became a critical success in Visayas.

Within a year, Sia opened another branch in Roxas City. In the second year of operations, he opened six more and in the third year, another 20.

Sia had plans of going public in 2010 but in October, publicly-listed company Jollibee Food Corporation announced it has acquired 70% of Mang Inasal Philippines, Inc. for P3 billion. Of which, Jollibee paid P200 million to the parent firm Injap Investments, Inc., which still held the remaining 30%. In December, Jollibee paid the 90% balance while the remaining 10% will be paid over three years.

Mang Inasal’s total branch of 303 will contribute 5% to Jollibee’s worldwide system sales, five percent to its revenue and seven percent to its operating income. Sia and Ferdinand Sia will sit as part of the Board of Directors of Jollibee. As Mang Inasal grew in the provinces, to 26 outlets, he enlisted Ferdinand, who had graduated from law school, to take charge of operations. Sia focused on expanding the chain’s reach, notably into Manila, which he refers to as “the make-or-break city.”

Mang Inasal’s 2006 debut in Manila was awkwardly timed as it was in the midst of a rice shortage in the country. Sia’s response was to offer a value meal of grilled chicken and unlimited rice for the equivalent of $2. This had already become an instant hit in Iloilo and Manila’s budget-conscious crowd took to it, too. The all-you-can-eat campaign, which was supposed to last two months, became a permanent item on the menu. Today, Sia says, it’s their most popular product. Manila alone has over 100 Mang Inasal outlets; 200,000 customers are served daily nationwide.