CEFBEX 2018: A Ticket to the Ultimate Foodventure

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Hailed as the Queen City of the South with good reason, Cebu City is home to a rich and vibrant culinary heritage and a burgeoning contemporary food scene that is doubtlessly informed by the region’s unique locale. Now on its 10th year, the Cebu Food and Beverage Exposition or simply CEFBEX, seeks to champion the region’s F&B scene with another mouth-watering installment that will surely evoke among discerning eaters and industry professionals a strong sense of enthusiasm and wonder for Cebu’s gastronomic pulse.

Aptly headlined as the “Ultimate Foodventure”, CEFBEX 2018 is determined to unleash the adventurous side of the Visayans when it comes to food. That is, by allowing them the opportunity to sample and taste the best of the local and global F&B market amid a relaxed, easy-going, and widely-festive environment.

Furthermore, CEFBEX is expected to once again serve up the widest showcase of the latest F&B trends as well as the tastiest and freshest goods from various F&B exhibitors. Apart from housing a plethora of F&B goods, products, and services, this year’s CEFBEX is truly intent on giving visitors a one-of-a-kind food show experience with its exciting line-up of pocket events and activities.

Each one conceived to captivate and engage the interest of foodies and industry professionals alike, this year’s crop of event highlights include the CEFBEX Culinary Cup: Home Chef Edition and Interschool Division. Developed to serve as a notable platform for aspiring chefs to showcase their skills and talents in the kitchen, the CEFBEX Culinary Cup also offers show attendees an opportunity to witness the culinary heritage and prowess of Cebuanos in action.

Open to all residents of Cebu with no prior professional experience for the last five years and no formal academic background on cooking, the Home Chef edition will be divided into two rounds, the semi-finals and the grand finals. The participating home chefs will then be tasked to collect their ingredients on the spot and cook up a culinary masterpiece.

On the other hand, the Interschool Division will be gathering culinary and hospitality students from various schools across the region to battle it out in different competitions such as Table Set-Up, Fruit Carving, Cake Decorating, Flair Bartending Tandem, Open Latte Art, and Pasta Live Cookery.

CEFBEX also takes pride in being a venue for discovery and continued learning for culinary enthusiasts, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs. Aside from live product and cooking demonstrations that will be held throughout the four-day trade show, this year’s show will also return with the CEFBEX Seminars.

Offered free of charge, this year’s CEFBEX Seminars will invite industry leaders from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Science and Technology to share their insights about best industry practices and other relevant information concerning the F&B trade.

A decade had passed but CEFBEX remains to be the biggest and most-anticipated food event in the region. In channeling its efforts in preserving the culinary heritage of the region while likewise opening up the opportunity for the F&B trade to flourish and grow towards new directions, CEFBEX 2018 is truly a celebration of all things great and promising for the region’s F&B industry.

The 10th Cebu Food and Beverage Expo or simply, CEFBEX 2018 is happening on October 11 to 14 at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall. The event is organized by Worldbex Services International. Admission is free and open to all foodies and F&B players. For more information, follow Cebu Food and Beverage Expo on Facebook and @cefbex on Instagram, call (02) 656-9239, or email info.worldbex@gmail.com

BDO-Easytrip Collaboration Provides Hassle-Free Expressway Travel to Motorists

Wazzup Pilipinas!

  

Travels along expressways in Northern Luzon and the Manila to Cavite area will soon become much more convenient following an agreement recently forged between BDO Unibank and Easytrip Services Corp., an electronic payment provider to toll operators.

Under the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by BDO and Easytrip, the bank will provide Easytrip's payment requirements, both to its suppliers and employees, through BDO's check printing and ATM payroll services. In addition to this, BDO Executive Vice President and Transaction Banking head Edwin Romualdo G. Reyes said the benefit of this MOA extends to the motorists-users of radio frequency ID (RFID) stickers who regularly travel along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Manila-Cavitex Expressway (Cavitex).

The BDO-Easytrip agreement allows easy reloading of RFID stickers through BDO's online and mobile bills payment facility, including over-the-counter payments at the nearest BDO branch via the bills payment facility. The RFID stickers, dubbed as Easydrive, are interoperable within NLEX, SCTEX and Cavitex.

"The MOA between BDO Unibank and Easytrip Services Corp. can help not only Easytrip, but also its 500,000 motorists who are RFID users, in conveniently reloading their RFID cards though BDO’s bills payment service," he said.

BDO has been Easytrip’s partner bank for cash management services since early 2017, from deposit pickup to collections from their customers, and to payments to their employees and suppliers.

For his part, Easytrip President Eugene S. Antonio said the partnership with BDO provides that much needed reloading facility that they have long been looking for.

"We are thankful that we are now part of the BDO ecosystem, so this is going to be a milestone for our customers," he said. "You need people who share the same advocacies that you have in delivering public service to the people. We are lucky enough to find that in a company that is always finding ways on how to deliver these products. We can say that the next trip of these customers will be an Easy-trip."

BDO signs CMS MOA with Easytrip. BDO Unibank recently signed a Cash Management Service Memorandum of Agreement with Easytrip Services Corp., wherein the bank will provide Easytrip's payment requirements both to its suppliers and employees. Present during the signing ceremony are (left to right) Roberto V. Bontia, Chief Tollways Operations and Technology Officer of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC); Christopher C. Lizo, Chief Financial Officer of MPTC; Eugene S. Antonio, President and General Manager of Easytrip; Edwin Romualdo G. Reyes, Executive Vice President and Transaction Banking head of BDO; and Edgardo R. Marcelo, Jr., First Vice President and Transaction Banking segment head of BDO.

Lamudi Ignites Cebu's Booming Real Estate Industry with Housing Fair

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The two-day Cebu Housing Fair held at the Ayala Mall Cebu Activity Center from September 8 to 9, 2018 was a well-attended event. Lamudi Managing Director and CEO Bhavna Suresh Chathambeth led the ribbon cutting ceremony, along with several local stakeholders and industry leaders in the real estate industry. This kicked-off the exciting gathering of property developers, brokers, bank representatives, and buyers in the Queen City of the South.  

Project developers and other participants

About 23 exhibitors anchored the Cebu Housing Fair and each had their own expertise, projects, and products to showcase to those in attendance. Ortigas & Company featured their model units using state of the art virtual reality (VR) technology. The Land Registration Authority, on the other hand, provided titling tips and services. Banks such as RCBC Savings Bank offered housing loan products while UnionBank actively held an auction. Brokers who wanted to expand their presence in the industry had Keller Williams Philippines to consult. This was complemented by PAREB-CESOREB, whose Cebu real estate broker membership has been growing since 2015.

The main bulk of the exhibitors were real estate developers including two of the most active developers in the country—Megaworld and Robinsons Land. Both companies already staked out Mactan through their respective projects, Mactan Newtown and Amisa. Ayala Land had its Amaia arm present the Amaia Steps development while Avida offered special discounts for its Riala project. Quadruple A contractor DMCI also went all out in marketing its Pasig-based Satori Residences and had hopes of having their first Cebu property soon.

Likewise, homegrown developers had an impressive line-up which had prospective buyers curiously inquiring. Gaisano-led Taft Properties partnered with world-class development group Hong Kong Land to create Mandani Bay, a beautiful waterfront township project. King Properties presented their home office concept Meridian, set to be located within Cebu City’s Golden Triangle. Primary Homes also had visitors considering its award-winning condo development, Brentwood in Lapu-Lapu City.

Other Cebu-based property developers were:

• Softouch Property Development Corp.
• AboitizLand, Inc.
• Contempo Property Holdings
• RDAK Land, Inc.

Event sponsors such as Food Panda, Zalora, and Lazada also made the event more engaging for the attendees.

Special public auction

Energizing the mood was UnionBank’s Asset Recovery Group headed by UnionBank Vice President Edzel Babas. He gave a short background talk on the team’s role, as well as the auction procedures.

The special auction’s pace was systematic: items sold fast as each went to sole bidders in a matter of seconds. All properties that were bid upon were purchased at their indicative prices. UnionBank also gave special discounts to successful bidders.

It turned out to be another successful auction for UnionBank. This was their fifth Lamudi event and the first in Cebu. Mr. Babas shared that, “We were able to dispose of a total of 27 (properties).” He also commended their partnership with Lamudi. “Lamudi has been the number one online portal in selling properties. UnionBank is very happy to be partnered with them.”

Cebu City’s housing market

The properties auctioned off were mainly from Visayas and Mindanao, with some select items coming from Luzon. Jeff Canonigo Lamudi’s Senior Account Manager for Visayas and Mindanao shared some insights on Cebu’s property market. According to him, pre-selling properties would quickly get sold out, especially those coming from local developers. He also noted that Cebu Business Park is the city’s rental condominium hotspot.

The leading online real estate platform

Without a doubt, Lamudi heads the pack in its industry. It has grown from being a newcomer in 2014 with minimal monthly visits and negligible monthly leads. Fast-forward to 2018 and it has 1.5 million website visits every month delivering over 100,000 monthly leads for its subscribers. Its new Lead Management tool only makes selling much easier for brokers, property developers, and owners alike.

The Lamudi team was readily available to sign-up new subscribers and explain the process at the event. There were also online marketing courses provided by the Lamudi Academy for both days of the Cebu Housing Fair. Lamudi’s Learning and Development Coach Nadine Pacis expertly delivered the classes. These were:

• Converting online leads to sales
• Delivering excellent customer service
• Top channels to use online

The success of Lamudi’s Cebu Housing Fair is proof that the city’s property market is set out to be one of the country’s next real estate center. The influx of waterfront developments is definitely another interesting aspect to look out for. It has the potential to raise property values in the metropolis and even brighter prospects for Cebu City’s unfaltering progress.