The Proof is in the Patty: MOS Burger opens soon in PHL
MOS burger, one of the largest brands in Japan, will open in February in the Philippines.
BusinessWorld got a taste of the MOS Cheeseburger (P149) and the Yakiniku Rice Burger (P169) during a pop-up event which ran from Jan. 15 and 16 near its first branch in Robinsons Galleria (still unopened) last week. Not having had the opportunity of tasting MOS burgers in its home country, I will have no point of comparison in judging the taste vis-à-vis the original. I will say, however, that the patty was packed with flavor, but just a bit dry — but maybe that’s just me. Any deficiency in texture I may have picked up is mollified by the secret sauce and the vegetables; not to mention the excellent bun — but yes, all things considered, it’s a good burger, especially when you rank it next to the hundred-or-so-peso offerings from others. Just don’t expect it to be anything more than fast food, even if the brand works on a cook-to-order approach.
The Yakiniku Rice Burger, meanwhile, a rice ball filled with seasoned and grilled beef, was filling, and at about 278 calories (according to myfitnesspal.com), it was worth it.
BRINGING MOS IN
MOS Burger, the company, was founded in 1972, and is the second-largest fast-food franchise in Japan (global giant McDonald’s is number one). The capitalized letters in its name stand for “Mountain, Ocean, Sun,” but an old story says it comes from founder Atsushi Sakurada’s former company, Merchandising Organizing System.
MOS burger was brought to the Philippines via MOS Burger Philippines, a joint venture between MOS Food Services Inc., in Japan, and Tokyo Coffee Holdings Inc., headed by Hubert Young. Mr. Young is also responsible for bringing in UCC, CoCo Ichibanya, ramen shop Mitsuyado Sei-men, and Japanese bakery Yamato. Mr. Young is a member of the Young family behind the flour producer General Milling Corp. (from which, according to an interview with BusinessWorld, they get their bread).
Mr. Young has been eyeing to get MOS Burger to the Philippines since getting his first bite in the 1990s.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the brand [then]. I started with UCC. What I did was basically build my credibility with the Japanese companies. MOS burger was hulog ng langit (a godsend). It came to my lap. They researched about me,” he said. This was due to a boom of Japanese companies entering the Philippines in 2017 and 2018, and their research pointed to him, running Japanese coffee brand UCC under a joint venture. “They discovered what I’ve been doing for all the other Japanese brands.
“When that came up, siempre I was kilig (of course it got me excited). And I did not really show it to them. I was being reserved,” said Mr. Young, who was dressed in an impeccably tailored, conservative navy blazer.
FONDNESS FOR JAPANESE
Asked about his attachment to Japanese brands, Mr. Young said in jest, “Probably I was Japanese before. I don’t know.” On a more reverent note, he did say, “I just love the Japanese. They always have the finer touch to everything… they’re very, very detailed in everything that they come up with.”
Speaking of detail, Mr. Young outlined some of the work that went into putting up MOS burger in the Philippines: “It’s a lot of detail. From the matter of having an understanding of what type of a joint venture this would be, probably around a year.
“We’re not just duplicating what is in Japan for this country. We need to see that this product is acceptable: Is the taste acceptable? Do we need to tweak the taste? These are all very detailed studies. We even hired survey companies to help is with this.”
According to him, the complete menu from Japan will be made available in Manila.
“I think what you’re going to ask me next is if we’re going to have something that is ‘Filipinized.’ Yes, we will, but that will come in probably another two to three months.”
For now, the brand plans to open the aforementioned branch in Robinsons Galleria on either the 26th or the 27th of February, along with other branches in SM Megamall, Robinsons Magnolia, O Square Greenhills, and Robinsons Place Manila, within a space of a few months.
Asked if Mr. Young plans to bring in any new brands within the year, he said, “For now, we’ll concentrate on this. This is very exciting.” — Joseph L. Garcia
