CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A hallmark of a good entrepreneur is being able to come up with new and
innovative products, but in these uncertain times, it is sometimes better for
entrepreneurs to stick to a tried-and-tested product. This is why Jonathan So and Carlito
Macadangdang Jr. decided in 2007 to establish Burger Factory, a "buy one, take one"
burger food cart franchise.
The partners were not exactly new to the food cart business, for at that time their
company, JC Fran Corp., already had five food-cart brands with more than a hundred
outlets. They came up with the idea for the Burger Factory when they were thinking of
what other product they could franchise. They wanted an established product that
already had a proven track record, and they decided to settle for burgers.
"Until now you could still see Minute Burger and Burger Machine," says So. "This
means that they are earning, and with the population growing, I'm sure I could capture a
slice of that market."
To test their concept, the partners opened a test branch in Quezon City in August
2007 and another one in November of that same year. They had opened a total of 34
outlets since then.
In an industry where competition is fierce and numerous other companies are
offering "buy one, take one" burgers, Burger Factory hopes to make a name for itself
based on three major product attributes: quality, value for money, and service.
So explains: "We put a high premium on taste and make sure that the product
and franchise aren't compromised. To ensure quality, I even sacrifice some of the profits,
but using Chinese thinking, I go for volume."
Burger Factory burgers cost more than the competition in their class, but So says
that consumers who try the product don't mind the difference because of Burger
Factory's higher quality. "We use 100 percent beef with no extenders in our patties, and
our burger's size is comparable to what you can buy in fastfood shops," he says. "And
we have monitoring teams that go around every day to make sure that our outlets are
clean and that their crew are following procedures."
A combination of affordable price, good product size, cleanliness, and classy
presentation has made Burger Factory popular across all social classes, says So. This
makes him confident that even with the current financial crisis; the company's sales will
pick up rather than slow down. Indeed, he expects that as the financial crisis gets worse,
more and more people would go for cheaper burgers than those offered by the higher
priced fastfood chains.
So also attributes the success of Burger Factory to the way he and his partner
have cultivated their relationship with franchisees. "It's a service-oriented business, and
in franchising what's important is the commitment to serve," he explains. He thus makes
sure of keeping the lines of communication open between him and his franchisees, and
has also established a Web-based customer service.
According to so, the franchisees of Burger Factory come from all walks of life,
like OFWs, retirees, and students who are attracted to the company's low franchise cost.
The basic franchise package costs only P88, 888, while the premium package costs
P128,888--almost half the cost of similar franchises--inclusive of initial inventory,
training, equipment, and the burger cart.
There is no royalty fee but in its place, the franchisee has to purchase all stock
from the JC Fran commissary. So says that the profit margin for the burgers is 40
percent and franchisees can normally get back their initial investment between six
months and a year.
To keep costs down, Burger Factory fabricates and prepares everything at the
company's commissary, from the carts all the way to the products. The company
intends to expand its product line and, to take full advantage of JC Fran's multiple
brands plans to open mini-restaurants offering the various JC Fran food products.
The food and drug administration and other federal and state food regulatory
agencies are using HACCP as an effective way to help assure that only legally
acceptable food products are available in the marketplace. The primary responsibility for
the safety, quality, and other attributes of the food product, however, rests with the
processor, distributor, or provider of that food, not the regulatory agencies. Therefore,
the application of the HACCP system is needed in almost all food establishments.
Applying the HACCP control system in burger factory franchise food cart involves
the guidelines of the application of the HACCP system. It also involves the seven
principles of the HACCP system.
As mentioned earlier, HACCP, or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, is a
systematic approach to food safety control. It starts with the assessment of hazards and
risks associated with growing and harvesting of raw materials and ingredients,
processing, distribution, marketing, and the preparation and consumption of the food.
Therefore, application of the HACCP to burger factory franchise food cart should start
with the beginning of the seven principles, conducting a hazard analysis.
CHAPTER II
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
In the project quality management system based on HACCP in a cooked burger,
processing establishments are supposed to be studied. It will cover following aspects of
the operation that can impact the safety of the final products:
1. Studying HACCP program and prerequisites such as: cleaning and
disinfecting systems, personal hygienic standard; pest control; water quality.
2. Evaluation of cleaning and disinfecting methods on the food contact surfaces
and non-food contact surfaces. It consists of:
 Samples taken from food contact surfaces and non-food contact
surfaces to evaluate the hygienic condition by Replicate Organism
Detection and Counting plate (RODAC plate), Listeria and also
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) measurement.
 Samples taken from raw material, semi-finished products, final
products to analyze micro-organisms such as total plate count (TPC),
Listeria, total coliforms and faecal coliform.
Results of this project will give useful information for the consumer who
frequently eats in a foodcart franchise.
CHAPTER III
HACCP GUIDELINES