Online food delivery platforms have paved the way to level the playing field for up-and-coming small businesses and big, established names in the food industry. Likewise, the presence of both in digital platforms has allowed consumers to have convenient access to a wider variety of food choices.
For leading online q-commerce digital platform foodpanda, the support coming from these businesses has been crucial to help them succeed in expanding and growing their footprint in the country.
According to foodpanda Philippines Managing Director Daniel Marogy, they hope to once again shine a spotlight on the hard work and service that their partner vendors and merchants put into providing good food for the community – and they are doing that through this year’s Vendor PandAwards.
“This year, we want to continue commending partner vendors who showed exceptional entrepreneurial skills and invaluable contribution to our growth and expansion with another round of our Vendor PandAwards,” Marogy said, adding that the diverse set of criteria of their PandAwards shows the various ways by which vendors’ performance and success can be measured.
“Each PandAward winner is quite unique, and we wanted to show that uniqueness in the categories as well,” Marogy noted.
Panda-best in Ratings
Red Ribbon has been a staple item of every Pinoy celebration and party. But aside from being a long-time household name, they have also been a constant favorite amongst foodpanda users. Because of their top-notch service as well as freshly baked cakes and goodies, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they bagged the award for the Panda-best in Ratings.
The bakeshop was able to consistently maintain an average rating of 4.6 stars in the foodpanda app.
Best ON-the-GO
Nothing beats a cold and refreshing cup of milk tea when you’re on the go or just simply roaming around the area. By ordering Serenitea through the foodpanda app, you can pick-up and enjoy exclusive discounts on your order.
Having the most pick-up orders, Serenitea bagged the Best ON-the-GO award. “It’s nice that foodpanda not only was a huge help for us through food deliveries when foot traffic was down during lockdowns, but they are also a big support to us in the new normal with new services like the pick-up feature,” Serenitea general manager Juliet Chen shared.
Panda New-Comer Award
Another all-time favorite – this time of die-hard coffee lovers – has also been recently included in the roster of treats you can order at foodpanda. Starbucks Coffee needs no more introduction for it to become one of the most-ordered items on the app despite being a newbie in the app.
Getting your favorite drinks and beverages just got so much easier now that Starbucks is finally on foodpanda!
Starbucks team receives their plaque for the Panda New-Comer Award
Panda Local Heroes
Capturing the hearts (and taste buds) of foodies in their localities, the Panda Local Heroes is a special category awarded to local vendors who exponentially grew and expanded their business in the area through foodpanda. The award was given to Pares Retiro, Biggs Diner, Alberto’s Pizza, and JM Shawarma for the Metro Manila Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao area respectively.
With its roster of Pinoy favorites such as sizzling bone marrow, silog, lomi, pansit, goto at halo halo, on top of its main pares dish, there’s no doubt that Pares Retiro is truly classic.
“From the very start, foodpanda has played a huge part in our mission to bring what we call ‘Totoong Pagkaing Pilipino’ closer to our pinoy customers. The pandemic made this partnership even more meaningful as we made our meals available to our customers even if they can’t visit us physically,” Pares Retiro Corporate Marketing Manager Joerome Santos remarked.
For Bicolanos in Naga City, Bigg’s Diner is a local fast-food favorite. It is definitely inspiring to witness the growth of what was once a small take-out counter offering burgers and fries to all Nageños to now a special diner concept offering American food and a lot more.
“With foodpanda’s strong online-ordering presence, it became a lifeline for Bigg’s Diner during the pandemic. We saw a significant increase in our sales among branches from Naga and Legazpi stores so we hope to continue doing this partnership in the future,” Bigg’s Diner Head of Delivery and Bulk Order Sales Omann Navar revealed.
“For many people, times are still tough because of the continuing effects of the pandemic. Despite that, our vendors have managed to rise above all adversities,” Marogy added. “In our own way, we want to appreciate the hard work and service they do to make our customers happy. We are also grateful for their trust and confidence, and we will continue to reinforce our commitment to supporting their growth and long-term success.”
Marogy also revealed that the second round of PandAwards was a step up from their previous one with more categories and awardees in the mix. See the full list of winners for the Vendor PandaAwards 2022 here.