JP Tanchanco: While our ingredients are organic and of top quality, our prices are reasonable

Who gets excited over healthy foods? Definitely not your typical restaurant-hopper who prefers real tasty, oftentimes cholesterol-heavy foods. But a mother and son tandem challenged the norm, and came up with Chimara – a restaurant they hope will change the way people look at healthy foods.

JP Tanchanco and mom Annie, President of the already successful Taters Enterprises, Inc., are introducing a new lifestlye with Chimara Neo Vegan Café. It stands out from among the many restaurants at the newly-opened Greenbelt 3 in Makati because it serves the “finest, healthiest, great-tasting neo-vegan snack specialties.”

In his market research prior to the restaurant opening, JP noticed the growing number of vegetarians — even among young people — who are getting to be more conscious about the food they eat. This is why they decided to offer a wide-range of “completely bare” foods – free of preservatives, colorings, and synthetic additives. As Chimara’s slogan goes, “Nude is Good.” Even the chairs and tables at Chimara are “nude,” made of transparent and durable materials.

JP, an economics student at the De La Salle University, is confident Chimara has found a niche market that he hopes will grow in the coming months. “Chimara’s competitive advantage is that we offer something new in the market and the vegetarians have another restaurant to try out,” he says. While their ingredients are organic and of top quality, prices at Chimara are reasonable and are able to compete with restaurants that offer vegetarian fare.

Chimara’s menu offers a variety of healthy and wholesome foods. They adopt healthier cooking processes and use monounsaturated vegetable oils combined with cleaner, phytonutrient ingredients in their food. They have a variety of vegan chips like Neo Nacho (baked, sesame-seeded tortillas), Vit-A-Chips (carrot and squash chips), Terra Tubers (taro and sweet potato chips), and banana and apple chips called BanApples.

They also offer salads, Vegan wraps or pita sandwiches and very light desserts. To go with these healthy foods are healthy beverages like dalandan juice, buko juice, and green tea. As much as possible, JP says they source their ingredients locally as part of their contribution to promote local industries. He also makes the effort to go around the nearby provinces to look for organic farms that are able to provide him with the produce he needs.

All throughout the interview, JP stressed the influence his mother has had over him. Annie’s entrepreneurial spirit and her wanting to contribute whatever she can to the betterment of Philippine society have infected him. “I want Chimara to be the business model for young entrepreneurs,” he said. “I want Chimara to make a difference and to provide employment opportunities to people.”

JP’s vision of Chimara’s future is grand. He wants to open up other branches in Metro Manila, but there is a bigger world that he wants to conquer – the United States and Europe, where people are more aware about vegetarianism.

JP is a firm believer of Chimara’s ability to make a unique mark in the food industry. “There is a market for this kind of restaurant because more and more people are becoming conscious of the food they eat.” Advising young entrepreneurs of today, JP says, “Don’t be scared to try something new.”