Banapple: Eating its Way to the Filipino Heart

For nearly five years, people have been having sweet rendezvous at Banapple – the warm and bright bakery-cafe that's most famous for their divine Banoffee Pie. What started as a small cafe in Katipunan is now one of the most popular go-to places for comfort food.

“We started as a home-based business back in 2000. We delivered cakes and pastries to coffee shops and restaurants,” shared GJ Jimenez, owner of Banapple. “When we started getting more accounts, we couldn't contain the operation in our house anymore so we decided to get a small space along Katipunan where we could transfer the operations. We initially thought of making it as a take-out place where customers can pick up the orders but we decided to offer some of our favorite dishes to make the menu more interesting,” recalls GJ.

Since its inception, news about their sumptuous food spread like wildfire by word of mouth. Banapple's success is largely because of its delicious yet affordable dishes served in generous servings. The charming home-cooked appeal of Banapple's dishes keep people coming back for more.

Aside from pleasing thousands of Pinoy palates with their delectable food, GJ also shares another secret ingredient to Banapple's success: online presence.

In this technology-driven era, brands like Banapple have more avenues to promote and market their brand and to communicate with their customers. Everyone is connected now in one way or another. This is why GJ, the tech-savvy owner of Banapple, values its relationship with ClickTheCity.com.

“I've been a fan of ClickTheCity since it started. It was my online yellow pages. Kahit wala pang mga iPhone noon,” GJ shares. From being just a simple website with local listings of restaurants and movie schedules, ClickTheCity.com has become the ultimate guide to the city life with the addition of feature articles, movie trailers and clips through the Clipcast section, and recently its Mobile Ordering function using the ClickTheCity Lifestyle App. “At first, we were really happy when Banapple got listed in ClickTheCity. But when we got featured, it drove people into our store. It was one of the first websites to feature Banapple and we were really overwhelmed by the people's response. ClickTheCity is an integral part of how Banapple was made aware to our customers,” says GJ.

“It's very important that you're on the web right now. It's important that you generate buzz because all or most of the diners now access the internet for information on where to put their money. They look at reviews, comments, feedback. The data and content are more meaningful to diners. It's online word of mouth,” GJ adds.

Now with six branches, Banapple has indeed grown in the hearts of many sweet-toothed Pinoys and is continuously endearing the hearts (and tummies) of many more.