Avin Ong, founder and CEO of The Fredley Group of Companies, shares his rags-to-riches story and the business insights that fueled the growth of his flagship franchise, Macao Imperial Tea
“Nasa masa ang pera,” says Avin Ong. Seated comfortably in the chic interiors of Café Kitsuné, the founder of The Fredley Group of Companies seems right at home. It is, after all, his cafe.
The entrepreneur has built a name for himself in the ever-changing seas of the F&B industry. He believes that the money is with the masses. According to him, he was a member of the masses some time ago. Ong grew up in, what he describes, as a blue-collar family. They did not have much money in his childhood.
“I have three sisters. My dad, unfortunately, died while I was still in the womb,” Ong explains. “When I was born, my family was still in mourning. [At the time] my mother [had a job] assembling hangers. We lived in San Nicolas in Manila and [my mother] had a friend in China who manufactured hangers. Her friend would send all the raw materials to our house for us to assemble, which we would then send to Divisoria, a street market in Metro Manila, to be sold. That was our job for many years. It’s scary to think about those times.”
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Ong now handles multi-million dollar businesses that span various concepts. From casual dining restaurants such as New York Fries and Dips (NYFD) to DIY concepts like Nabe Japanese Izakaya and Hot Pot, Ong is also the man who brought Macao Imperial Tea and French-Japanese cafe, Café Kitsuné, to the Philippines.
Between all these ventures, Ong finds himself managing more money than he previously would have thought. He says it’s never just about profit. He shares the insights from his personal rags-to-riches story and the lessons behind his entrepreneurial success.
Grab the opportunity
Starting off with nothing has made Ong impervious to loss. “Losing money is nothing new to me. I’m not afraid to lose it again,” he shrugs. “Thus, I never say no to opportunity because it is always there. I recall the feeling of previously being so desperate to earn money that I’ve now become a yes-man to opportunity. You just have to grab it whether or not you’re ready.”
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Understand your target market
On the topic of his growing food empire, Ong says he has managed to do that by investing in a diverse portfolio of businesses. His secret has been to segment the market and take over it.
“The way we speak to each market has to be totally different,” he points out. “I work with a very capable team and they know how to do that. For example, in the case of Café Kitsuné, we’re talking to [class] A and B. As a result, we have a specific language and style used to target and talk to those segments. In the case of Macao Imperial Tea, we target TikTok and [more approachable] social media influencers.”