Understanding the Business

CRISPY KING
Location: University of Eastern Philippines Zone 2

Prepared by Group 1:

Aguilar, Vanessa S.
Monares, Catherine L.
Refugio, Arriana
Pales, Charlotte
Balasta, Cerila Mae

I. INTRODUCTION
 Crispy King is a fast-food restaurant chain which specializes in fried chicken. Crispy
King fast-food stands out as a major player, known for its diverse menu and a costumer-
centric approach. Their goal is to offer the public the highest caliber crispy fried chicken at a
price that is both economical and luxurious. An affordable substitute that is worthwhile for ea
ch item you buy. In addition, the organization sees room for expansion and wants to improve
lives, foster goodwill among neighbors, and provide additional work possibilities. Because of
this, as well as the energy of its staff and leadership, they are able to keep innovating their ma
rketing strategy and giving you the highest-quality items at competitive prices.

Started in the year 2001, the Crispy King had also its humble beginnings as a bakery b
usiness in Cebu City which later on captured the hearts of Ormocanons. Since then, with Day
ka bakeshop as the principal business of the company – it has continued to ventured into the g
rilled-chicken business of Estong Manok and Liempo, the fast-food chicken business of Crisp
y King. The company's first Crispy King store opened in Lopez Jaena St., Ormoc City with ju
st 20sqm.

They aim to provide and deliver the best quality crispy friend chicken to the masses at
a very affordable price with the comforts of dining in. An alternative choice that is budget co
nscious and worth for your every purchased. Furthermore, the company sees opportunity for
business growth and aims to create more job opportunities and build better lives and goodwill
to the community. This along with the dynamism of it's leadership and team, the continue to i
nnovate their marketing plan and provide you the best quality products at an affordable price.

Crispy King's journey and success has continue to exponentially grow and currently h
as an over 400 stores Nationwide, including the a franchise located at the University of
Eastern Philippines Zone 2.

Company Strategy

According to the Crispy King official website, the business has more than 400 branch
es nationwide and their franchise costs around 500,000 pesos. Crispy King ideally expands t
heir business venture towards larger landscape. The improvement of the fast food business m
eans that the owners manage to sustain competitive advantage even though there are a lot of r
isks and uncertainty in the market. Owners and key personnel obtain a strategic approach on
how to maximize the business value. Some of the strategy that the business establish includes
product differentiation, cost leadership, fast services, wide space for dine-in, and recruitment
of key employees.

Economic Condition

Price of the product offer is very affordable more like a student price, since it is locate
d inside the UEP the target customers are the students and residents of UEP. Despite having a
number of competitive it still became the well known and more likely a leading business that
offers meals that are mainly a fried chicken inside the UEP. Their supply of chicken don’t act
ually change dramatically from both number and quality for the reason that they have this sup
plier of their goods that they consistently having a contract with. Prices of their goods just ch
ange when there is sudden change in inflation rate, currently their cooked rice price increase
with the increase also of rice to the market. Their sales normally increase during schooldays a
nd decline during vacation and long weekend.

Company's Historical Performance

Crispy King is a fast-food business in the Philippines, specializing in fried chicken.

The company's first store opened in Lopez Jaena St., Ormoc City, with just 20 square meters
of space. The main office of Crispy King is located in Cogon Combado, Ormoc City, Leyte,
while their marketing and business partner office is on Anubing Street, also in Ormoc City.
However, their aim is to provide and deliver high-quality crispy fried chicken to the masses at
a very affordable price, with the comforts of dining in and the comfort that they could get
from Crispy King as a whole. And also to uplift it's people to help them build better
communities.

Unfortunately, we couldn't find detailed information about the company's historical

performance, such as its growth rate, sales figures, or market share. For the reason that there
is limited information in the internet about the business and we can't contact the owner of the
branch here in UEP and the employees are not knowledgeable enough about the business.
That's why we cannot completely analyse and show their financial statements and if they
really gain great profits based on their historical performance. However, based on our
research, their journey from 2019 up until 2021, they already have had reached 50 stores and
continue to exponentially grow and currently has over 100 operating stores. So that's how fast
they could expand and definitely in the long run they already earned a lot especially they
captured the attention of the masses to patronize their product. And based on their story they
make innovation about their marketing plan and strategies for the business to grow and earn
more.

In addition, Crispy King is continuously expanding up until now. In fact they already
have 2 branches here in UEP and some other places in Catarman. A lot of businessmen are
franchising Crispy King due to its popularity and great returns.

I. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

1. Industry Rivalry
Rivalry of fast-food chains centered in serving Fried Chicken is not too intense due to
small number of market players. The direct competitors of Crispy King in this location are
Nana’s Kitchen and Crazy Krunch. These two are considered to be its direct competitors for
they serve the same main product which is fried chicken with almost similar price ranges and
with dine-in service. Though there is a tight competition amongst these businesses, Crispy
king still stands out as a major player due to the following reasons:

A. Crispy King has successfully established brand awareness among its target market,
with customers being familiar with the brand’s name and offerings.

B. Positive brand associations, such as delicious taste and affordable pricing, contribute
to customer loyalty and positive perceptions of Crispy King.

C. Crispy King’s focus on delivering delicious and flavorful meals has resulted in
customers’ positive perceptions of food quality.

D. Crispy King has successfully cultivated brand loyalty among its customers, driven by
positive associations and perceived quality.

Renowned businesses like Crispy King succeed in franchising because of their

established reputation, which draw clients more easily and develop credibility more quickly
than launching a new company. As compared to Crazy Krunch which actually had just started
later than the Crispy King, they have a weaker brand familiarity. Also, Nana’s Kitchen is a
locally grown business thus customers has less knowledge about it and are garnering less
popularity. Especially that most students in the University of Eastern Philippines are not from
the town, thus has no much familiarity of the local fast-food chains.
 2. New Entrants

Crispy King is one of the well-known fast food business nationwide. It is commonly p
opular specializing fried chicken, rice, siomai, and meat balls at lower and affordable prices.
Given these data, the degree of possibility for new market players to enter the fast food indust
ry is high for the reason that it can easily be establish as long as there is enough capital and w
ork force resources. This primarily affect the business profitability having competition in the
market. The earnings of the business may reduce if the entity will not establish strategic and t
actical plans when new market players enter the same industry.

Potential competitors may exist when they look at the opportunity to compete and edg
e out the existing business entity. It is crucial for the established business (Crispy King) to ma
nage the risk of uncertainty and maintain competitive advantage in the fast-food industry.

Here are some threats of new entrants for Crispy King:

1. Customer Loyalty

Crispy King shall have good accommodation and impression for its customers. They
must treat their customer fairly and build a good relationship with them. When the entity achi
eve this, it becomes challenging for new entrants to enter the market even though they have e
nough capital resources in setting up the business.

2. Regulatory compliance

In food industry, the regulations are more stringent compared to other business type.
The requirements may cause for the new entrants to back out from entering the market.

3. Capital Requirements

Setting up food business may require significant initial investment primarily intended
for production facilities, workers, marketing, machinery, and physical location. New entrants
may think that high capital requirements shall cause for possible losses at early stage.

4. Business Reputation

Crispy King seemingly dominating the market especially in areas where the market ar
e highly active. Target market includes universities, colleges, cities, and even rural areas. Wh
en the brand establish a good reputation in the market, it is difficult for new competitors to co
mpete with the existing market players.

5. Agreed supplier of goods

If Crispy King established a good and reliable supplier relationships, new entrants ma
y face difficulties securing the same quality ingredients or negotiating favorable terms. Also,
new entrants may not be able to obtain supplier of goods because other existing businesses h
ave established agreement terms that limit new competitors purchase goods from the supplier
(e.g incentives and gains from business contract).

6. Good Location of the business

If the business is set up in a wide range area, new competitors might struggle to attract
customers and distribute their products. Mostly, Crispy King branches are located in a public
areas where active market is competitively established. At the University of Eastern Philippin
es (UEP), the business has 2 branches that are placed in good location. One branch is located
near College of Business Administration (CBA) and besides UEP business arcade. Students,
professors, staffs, and employees are their primary customers because it is nearby the area an
d convenient for them specially when rush hours. Another branch is set up few meters away f
rom the campus. By looking at the location, the business reaches the maximum number of cu
stomers because there are huge number of potential buyers hanging around the road ways.

3. Substitutes and Complements

Crispy King is known for its delicious and crispy fried chicken. The main substitute f
or Crispy King is the famous fast food brand, Jollibee. Aside from Jollibee's fried chicken, th
ey also offer the best complement for the product, the gravy, in which people are craving and
looking for. That is why Crispy King made sure that their product is less expensive as compar
ed to Jollibee to attract more customers.

Another is the small stalls around the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP). Some
students would prefer to buy a product that is worth 10-12 pesos as compared to 40 pesos, reg
ardless if it satisfy their palate, because it is what they can only afford as of the moment espec
ially for students who have limited allowance. But we cannot deny that Crispy King's one pie
ce of fried chicken can satiate one's appetite and is worth for its price. As a result, Crispy Kin
g has regular customers.
 4. Supplier Power

Their suppliers have the power to influence price either to increase and decrease, as w
ell as the availability of resources. The business is dependent on them for the reason that they
cannot switch to other suppliers because of higher costs and lack of alternative sources. They’
re also securing the quality of goods that the supplier providing for them.

5. Buyer Power

The buyer power in the fast food industry in the Philippines, and thus for Crispy King,
is relatively high. It's branch here in UEP, Catarman Northern Samar really faced various
competition when it comes to fast foods. Though they can still assure to have lots of
customers since some of the people especially student are loyal to Crispy King products. But
that doesn't mean that, it will last for too long. Customers perspectives and choices is
constantly changing. Because they choose the quality of the products that they purchase in
order to satisfy themselves and their pockets. Remember customers have various options to
choose from. Especially when it comes to fried chicken since their are so many vendors here
in UEP selling very affordable fried chicken. And since consumers are more price-sensitive,
and they might switch to another brand if they find similar food at a lower price like for
example in Crazy crunch which is considered the direct competitor of Crispy King sell Php
35.00 per slice. And the very affordable 10 pesos offered by lots of street vendors located in
Saturnino. Well that makes the buyer power so high in Crispy King. Furthermore, preferences
can greatly influence the fast food market. Trends towards healthier options or specific food
preferences can shift demand and give consumers more power. So customers have a wide
array of options to choose from, which increases their bargaining power. Also Crispy King
have low switching cost because if customers are not satisfied with the food or service that
they offer, they can easily switch to another. And based on my observation, the branch of
Crispy king here in UEP is quite tiny to accommodate large array of customers that's why
there are some who just chooses to switch to another chain in order to satisfy their cravings
and hunger. However, in addition to that, this type of business is very dependent on their
customers in order to survive in the market and to continue their operations in long term.
That's why no doubt that the buyer power is high.
 II. COMPETITIVE POSITION

One of the great advantage is that Franchisees of well-known companies like of

Crispy King have a track record of success and pose less risk than new, unproven brands. In
the industry of fast-food chains considering their location which is inside the vicinity of a
university, they’re not able to be the cost leader since they all have the same range of prices.
Which ranges from 40 pesos solely for chicken and 50 pesos if for dine in with rice. But they
are considered as having edge amongst other competitors for they have their own luxurious
taste of their fried chicken with large slices. That their customers most especially the students
patronize. However, other than their tasty fried chicken, they also have something else in
their menu like; ngohiong, lumpia and bola bola. Which are not found on the menu of Crazy
Krunch and in Nana’s Kitchen.

The chosen location of this Crispy King franchise is very much strategic. They were
able to analyze well the focus of their operations which are mainly the students of UEP.
Putting into consideration the sake of its customers that are mostly students, they
harmonically integrate these factors to their product and price.

III. SWOT analysis for Crispy King

STRENGTHS:

1. Quality Fried Chicken: Crispy King is known for providing high-quality crispy fried
chicken, which can be a significant strength in attracting customers who appreciate well-
prepared and flavorful chicken. Their friend chicken have that unique tastes and flavor which
catches the attention of so many customers. And in fact it says that their specialty which is
fried chicken is considered their signature dish.

2. Affordable Pricing: aside from having good quality of product, they're Offering
affordable pricing for their products can be a competitive advantage, appealing to price-
sensitive customers who are looking for value for their money. To be exact, a piece of
chicken is worth 40 pesos. And their value meal us just 50 pesos. A very budget friendly
price especially to those students studying here in UEP. And serves as an alternative choice
that is budget conscious and worth for every purchased.
3. Local Presence: With its presence here in UEP, and to some places in the Philippines,
Crispy King can leverage its local roots to establish a strong connection with the community
and build customer loyalty. They located to a place that is easy to locate and accessible to all
customers.

4. Quality of services: Crispy King really shows their good quality when it comes to
customer services. Staff's responsiveness and attentiveness to customer need is well-received.

WEAKNESSES:

1. Limited Brand Recognition: Crispy King may face challenges in terms of brand
recognition compared to more established fast-food chains. Building brand awareness and
loyalty beyond their local presence could be a potential weakness.

2. Limited Menu Variety: While specializing in fried chicken can be a strength, it may also
limit the options available for customers who seek a broader range of menu choices. And it's
true that Crispy King only have limited menu unlike Jollibee and McDonald's. The more
variety of food and product to choose from the more customer.

3. Limited online appearance: based on our analysis, Crispy King is not in to digital
expansion. With the vast growing technology nowadays, this is the opportunity for business
to expand globally through the use of various platforms in social media. Where it could help
promote their products in a wide range of audience and customers.

3. Small space of dinning in area. Their branch here in UEP, have a tiny space for dine ins.
That's why they cannot accommodate lots of customers who wants to dine. That's why
customers will wait for too long just to get their orders. And their second branch are for take
outs only that's why some of the customer chooses to switch to another store.

OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Market Expansion: Crispy King has the opportunity to expand its presence beyond
Ormoc City which the Crispy King had started and tap into new markets within the
Philippines. Which help them increase brand visibility and attract a larger customer base.

2. Menu Diversification: Although Crispy King is known for Fried chicken, but they also
have other variety of food on their menu which might complement to the chicken or as an
alternative that customers could choose from. Due to the fact that changes in customers
preferences is high. However, introducing new menu items or expanding the existing
offerings can attract a wider range of customers and cater to different preferences, potentially
increasing sales and customer satisfaction.

THREATS:

1. Competition in the market: The fast-food industry in the Philippines is highly

competitive, with both local and international players. Crispy King is prone to this threat of
competition from well-established fast-food chains that have greater resources and brand
recognition.

2. Changes in Regulation: this threat for fast food chains mainly focused on food safety
standards, health standards and hygiene. Because they are selling foods where it is prone for
contamination. And also about the compensation of their employees. This might considered a
threat to Crispy King because regulations from the government is mandatory. The moment
they contravene and violate the law they will automatically stop their operations.

3. Changing Consumer Preferences: Shifting consumer preferences, such as a growing

demand for healthier food options or alternative dining experiences, pose a threat to Crispy
King's traditional fast-food model. The buyer power for fast food restaurants is high that's
why it is also a threat for Crispy King to keep their the loyalty of the customers.

References
 American Journal of Multidisciplinary research and innovation,July
2023.https://doi.org/10.54536/ajmri.v2i4.1858
 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajmri
 http://www.chrispyking.com