Potato Corner CEO shares secrets to food cart success

MANILA - Potato Corner CEO Joe Magsaysay built the french fries brand into a global franchise business with annual sales of P1 billion.

In a publication by the Asian Institute of Management, where he obtained a masters degree in entrepreneurship, Magsaysay shared how the 25-year-old food cart pioneer succeeded.

• READ: Of fries and franchise: Meet 'The Boss' of Potato Corner

"If you want a brand to stick, market it to kids," Magsaysay said, adding current millennial customers were the same children who bought his products when it started.

"When you market to teenagers and adults, they will shift to the next big thing. But kids? Once you get them, they’re yours for life," he said.

He hatched the plan to get the business back on track in graduate school, after the 1997 Asian financial crisis forced it to scale down. He had initially wanted to pursue a donut business but decided on returning to Potato Corner.

"I really believe in ‘one thing at a time.’ Potato Corner grew the way it did because we focused. We had a lot of opportunities to explore because of the success of the business, but we realized it was successful precisely because we were so focused," he said.

• READ: Potato Corner's first Hong Kong store is an early hit