MANILA — Korean chain Zoo Coffee recently launched its third and largest branch in the Philippines to date at Ayala Vertis North, where it is strategically located at the entrance of the mall’s Korea Town.

It has been a slow but sure growth for the Korean import, which opened its first branch in the Philippines at Alphaland Makati Place back in June 2016, followed a year later by a cafe at SM Megamall.

“We want to gauge the market, and at the same time, hone our operations,” operations manager Katrina Balolan told ABS-CBN News.

Two years after its debut, Balolan feels they are ready to speed up its expansion with two more branches targeted to open within the year. She shared that they are already in talks with Robinsons Malls and another Ayala mall. They are also establishing a barista academy to train people, as well as “working our logistics and supply chain to make sure we can support our future stores.”

Zoo Coffee has over 100 stores in South Korea since it was established in 2009. It is distinguished by its playful ambience in keeping with its theme. A pillar, for instance, was dressed as a giant tree and cute animal stuffed toys are found all around the store. Even the employees are dressed in a safari uniform.

“We are bringing in a different kind of coffee experience to those who want to relax from the hustle and bustle of life in Manila,” Balolan said, adding that families are their primary target market.

“We love the enthusiasm of Filipinos for K-pop and K-drama and other facets of Korean culture,” she also noted.

Zoo Coffee, in fact, was featured in the Korean series “Innocent Man.”

“We believe that bringing a Korean coffee shop in the Philippines can help them experience more of the culture in terms of what’s unique and different about Korea.”

This brand identity can also be seen in Zoo Coffee’s menu, which includes the popular Korean iced dessert bingsu, which comes in various flavors. It also serves the distinctly Korean red ginseng honey latte and red ginseng honey tea.

“This is something unique that we offer to the market,” Balolan said of its ginseng drinks, noting that this ingredient has health benefits like antioxidants and also helps cleanse the body.

As an aside, she noted that Koreans actually prefer their coffee mild and more traditional, while Filipinos are more into sweet iced coffee creations.

This sweet tooth extends to food and among the most popular item at Zoo Coffee is its signature waffle. That’s why to mark the opening of its Quezon City branch, it has developed two new flavors — the Churro Waffle and the Oreo Waffle — which are exclusively available at Ayala Vertis North.

“A lot of our customers love our waffles so we decided to come up with a new set of waffle flavors,” Balolan said.

Other food items on the Zoo menu are hotdogs, cakes and other sandwiches.

These fun elements help distinguish Zoo Coffee in the highly competitive coffee shop segment, which includes global chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as homegrown neighborhood stores.

“We want to give them (customers) a home to escape from the stress of everyday life in this type of cozy environment.”