McDonald’s is letting you in on a secret…

Press release

Don't you just find it thrilling when you're one of the few people who know about and got access to the Secret Menu that has great offerings?

We're letting you in on even juicier scoops of news!

McDonald’s is giving its customers more to be excited about with new Secret Menu items! Starting this week, customers can enjoy the Double Big Mac and the BCB (Beef Chicken Beef), which joins the ranks of existing Secret Menu items: the Triple Cheeseburger, Double McChicken, and Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese. 

Get your McDonald’s favorites—with a twist— by ordering from the Secret Menu today! 

Rediscover the joy of eating with hands through Safeguard’s latest film

Press release

Feasting with our bare hands is probably one of the most loved of Filipino traditions. And for most Filipinos, eating with hands evokes positive thoughts, brings back great childhood memories, and even makes food taste better.

But if you are like most Filipinos, you probably have not eaten using your hands in a long time. With the convenience of utensils and hygiene concerns, most people opt not to eat with their hands anytime, anywhere. The embarrassment and self-consciousness of being caught eating with one’s hands have prevented many of us from enjoying that way of eating as often as we want.

To let people rediscover the joy of eating with hands, Safeguard Philippines released a new film titled The Dinner. Starring Boy Abunda, AiAi delas Alas, Bianca Gonzalez, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Neri Miranda, James Deakin, LA Tenorio, Drew Arellano and Chef JP Anglo, the film revolved around these showbiz personalities enjoying a full course meal of Filipino dishes with a twist— they all had to eat with their hands—as they bond over a shared heritage and reminisce how going kamayan is something that all Filipinos should be proud of. 

Shot without a script and in just one take, the film captured the celebrities’ real and natural reactions to the experience of eating using their hands. The reactions ranged from pure shock to perplexion when the waiters took away their utensils. 

James Deakin says, “This is the oddest thing I think I’ve ever done”, while LA Tenorio wonders, “what’s going to happen here?”.

But over the course of the dinner, as conversations break out and guests start enjoying their meal kamayan-style, the uneasiness gave way to meaningful talks and bonding.

The celebrities delved into deeper conversations and talked more about the barriers that come in the way of Filipinos eating with hands more often. Boy Abunda asked, “Ano ba mga stigmas ‘pag nagkakamay?”. Neri Miranda answered, ““Nakakahiya naman diba. Kasi grabe naman – nagugutuman? Parang ganoon.” Despite the reasons that hinder Filipinos from going kamayan, one cannot deny the fact that there is really something special when you eat with your bare hands. “The taste of food changes when you eat with your hands. Everything is about the senses, right? You have the sense of smell, taste and touch when you eat with your hands. So, the whole experience is improved” shared James Deakin.

LA Tenorio adds “Kahit after practice nagkakamayan kami. May ibang lasa eh.” This depicts how eating with your hands is a way to bond and have fun with family and friends-- which was very evident when the celebrities engaged in conversations and freely ate with their hands, finishing off even licking their fingers.

Boy Abunda then told to the group, “Earlier, when we were starting, we were all so stiff. Ngayon, wala na. Hahaha!”

Apart from showing how using your hands to eat food can bring about comfort toward the people around us and make the food taste better, the film showed how clean hands enable richer experiences.  “Clean hands as a result of proper handwashing is Safeguard’s pabaon to the nation. Through our latest film, Safeguard not only recognizes the health benefits of handwashing but it also wants to remind people of the joys that eating kamayan-style can bring. It is a celebration of the Filipino heritage that is made even more worthwhile with clean hands and allows us to create richer experiences with our loved ones.” said says Alex Vogler, Associate Director, Digital Transformation & Brand Communications for Procter & Gamble’s Beauty Division in Asia Pacific.

At the end of the video, the awkward moments among the celebrities gives way to genuine camaraderie. This shows how eating using one’s bare hands can bring about a sense of goodwill and bonding over meals which makes the food taste better, and the experience more satisfying.

Join the conversation and share with us your favorite moments eating with hands online with the hashtag #GoKamayan and #Safeguard. Watch “The Dinner” on Safeguard’s  Facebook and YouTube!

Learn more about #GoKamayan on Safeguard’s official website https://www.safeguard.ph/en-ph

McDonald’s ‘Chairman’s Treat’

Watch out for the McDonald’s ‘Chairman’s Treat’ on September 27! Buy one McSpaghetti McSaver meal and get one Burger McDo free from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM only.

McDonald’s Philippines Chairman and Founder, Dr. George T. Yang, celebrates his birthday and the anniversary of the opening of the first McDonald’s store in the country with a special treat for customers. On September 27, the quick service restaurant launches the “Chairman’s Treat” which puts the spotlight on McSpaghetti and Burger McDo, two local products exclusive only in the McDonald’s Philippines menu, which Yang championed.

For a limited time on September 27, McDonald’s customers will be treated with one free Burger McDo for every purchase of a McSpaghetti McSaver meal.

The Chairman’s Treat promo will run on September 27, 2018, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM only, and is available across all McDonald’s restaurants. The promo will be available for dine-in, take out, and drive thru customers only.

Fruitas goes cashless with GCash

Press release

Scan to pay feature now available at select Fruitas Holdings Inc. stores

After making department store and convenience store purchases a breeze using cashless payments, Globe announced that its mobile wallet payment platform GCash is now accepted at select Fruitas stores.

 

From L-R:  Calvin Chua, Fruitas Holdings Chief Financial Adviser; 

 Lester Yu, Fruitas Holdings Founder and CEO; Ernest Cu, 

Globe Telecom President and CEO; and 

Anthony Thomas, Mynt President and CEO

Fruitas Holdings, Inc. (FHI), the leading group in the food cart industry in the Philippines, now accepts payments using the GCash scan-to-pay feature in its pilot stores in Metro Manila. This includes two Fruitas stalls, Johnn Lemon, and De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar in Market! Market! Fiesta, Bonifacio Global City; Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie and Juice Bar, and House of Fruitas in Metro Gaisano Market! Market!; and Buko ni Fruitas and Johnn Lemon in Ayala Marikina. This means that with the help of the GCash app, customers may now purchase their favorite Fruitas beverage using the QR (Quick Response) codes present in Fruitas stores.

By the end of 2018, Mynt, the mobile financial service company of Globe, is targeting to enable Fruitas Holdings Inc. to accept GCash payments in all its stores nationwide. GCash is the pioneer in electronic payments using QR codes.

Aside from Fruitas, all other brands under Fruitas Holdings, Inc. will also start accepting the GCash Scan-to-Pay feature. This includes Juice Avenue, De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar, Buko Loco, Fruitas Ice Candy, Black Pearl, Fruitas House of Desserts, Johnn Lemon, The Mango Farm, Jammin’ Jamaica, Shou La Mien Hand-Pulled Noodles, 7,107 Halo Halo Islands, Friends Fries, Buko ni Fruitas, Fancie, Cindy’s Candy Cloud, Tearex, Munifico Pizzeria, The Pub, and  Cellar 150. GCash will also be available at Fruitas Holdings stores in Cascades Lifestyle Park,  Le Village Lifestyle Park, and Uno Cinquenta Food Park (formerly 150 Maginhawa).

“We recognize the need to adapt to trends; not only in introducing new offerings catering to the taste of Filipinos, but also in improving their total experience with our stores. Partnering with GCash allows our consumers to perform hassle-free mobile cashless transactions. We are looking forward to scaling as we ride on the e-commerce wave,” says Lester Yu, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fruitas Holdings, Inc.

FHI continues to cater to the needs of consumers as it finds new ways and fresh concepts to bring accessible and healthy products to Filipinos. Through this partnership, Fruitas Holdings is able to display how it adapts to trends by integrating the cashless payment scheme.

“After SM Store and Mini Stop, it’s now the turn of Fruitas to experience what cashless payments using GCash can do to their brand. We’ve seen long lines of people queuing at Fruitas outlets just to enjoy their products. With GCash, we can definitely cut those long lines in order for more people to enjoy Fruitas (for) as fast and simple as a tap and scan on their phones. Using GCash means better business for Fruitas,” declares Anthony Thomas, chief executive officer of Mynt.

“Cashless payment using mobile phones is still largely in its infancy stage in the Philippines but it’s getting to be more popular and soon will be widely accepted. We are glad to be at the forefront of this technology, which is all part of our objective of creating wonderful services for all our customers,” says Ernest Cu, president and Chief Executive Officer of Globe.

Late last year, the GCash scan-to-pay feature became available at all SM Store outlets and at all Mini Stop convenience stores nationwide in order to promote cashless payments in the country.

In order to purchase using GCash, customers with an iPhone or Android smartphone simply need to download or update to the latest version of the GCash app. Once the app is downloaded, customers only need to register an account and fund their GCash wallet by loading funds through any of the more than 12,000 GCash partner outlets nationwide.All the customers have to do is tap Scan QR and point their phone’s camera at the store partner’s QR code, to pay.

As an introductory promo to GCash users, those who pay using the app will be able to enjoy 10% cash back in each of the nine pilot stores of Fruitas Holdings, per day. The promo lasts until March 31, 2018.

  

GCash is operated by Mynt, the financial service company owned by Globe Telecom and Ant Financial Services Group, one of the world’s leading digital financial services providers, and Ayala Corporation.

For more about Fruitas Holdings Inc, visit http://fruitasholdings.com/.

For more about Globe Telecom, visit www.globe.com.ph.

Get FREE McDonald's Longgadesal on March 19 for National Breakfast Day!

Press release

Every day is a new beginning and a chance to do great things and amaze yourself. On March 19, McDonald’s once again invites its customers to start their day right with a free Longgadesal as it holds the much-awaited National Breakfast Day!

Now on its sixth year, National Breakfast Day lets Filipinos all over the country enjoy the goodness of a McDonald’s breakfast to jumpstart their day on a positive note.

This 2018, McDonald's is giving away its newest breakfast offering, the Longgadesal, from 7AM to 8AM in close to 500 breakfast stores nationwide.

The new McDonald’s Longgadesal is a delicious take on the traditional freshly-baked pandesal combined with another Filipino breakfast staple, longganisa. Experience a savory, beefy, longganisa patty, topped with a sweet, creamy sauce, sandwiched between a soft pandesal bun enjoyed with or without an egg. The Longgadesal is perfect for when you need something delicious to grab and go and is definitely a great way to start a new day. To complete your breakfast, the Longgadesal is best paired with McCafé Premium Roast Coffee, made with 100% Arabica Beans.

“National Breakfast Day is our biggest breakfast activation and now on its sixth year, together with thousands of our crew and managers, we're excited to once again welcome customers from all over the country in our stores and have them experience a memorable morning,” says Kenneth S. Yang, McDonald's Philippines President & Chief Executive Officer. “Breakfast signals the start of a new day, and we’re happy to be with our customers in starting their week right, with a free, delicious Longgadesal that they can keep coming back for only in McDonald’s,” Yang concluded.

Celebrities are also eagerly looking forward to taking part in the National Breakfast Day celebration. Catch McDonald’s endorsers Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Tony Labrusca, Maymay Entrata, Edward Barber, and many more, who will personally hand-out free Longgadesal in select McDonald’s stores.

Celebrate National Breakfast Day and experience a great start to your day by heading to participating McDonald’s stores nationwide on March 19 from 7am to 8am.

Share your National Breakfast Day experience and tag @McDo_PH on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #NationalBreakfastDay. For more details, please visit www.mcdonalds.com.ph

Spread Smiles this Holiday Season

Press release

Smile Train Ambassador, Danica Sotto-Pingris, shares holiday recipes with supporters during culinary fundraiser

MANILA – With lanterns of different shapes and sizes beginning to light up the streets of Manila, and Christmas carols starting to play, one could say that the Yuletide season is just around the corner. While the upcoming holiday is usually associated by breaks in both school and at work, it is also known as the season for festive dining and giving.

In celebration of the season of giving, Smile Train Philippines took the opportunity to marry the joy of feasting with the spirit of giving as the world’s leading cleft charity hosted a culinary class with their Ambassador, Danica Sotto-Pingris.

Dubbed “Spread Smiles This Holiday”, the afternoon cooking affair sought to teach the participants fun and exciting dishes they could easily prepare for their different reunions with their loved ones. Proceeds from the class will benefit Smile Train’s local programs in the Philippines. Apart from the monetary donation, participants were able to interact with some of Smile Train’s former cleft patients, as they learned more about the organization and its vision.

“We know that the holidays are all about giving and enjoying good food with friends and family. And we thought what better way to bring people together other than a cooking class. We were so honored to have one of our celebrity ambassadors, Danica Sotto-Pingris lead the culinary class. In doing so, we were able to raise funds and awareness for Smile Train and children living with untreated clefts,” said Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Country Director for Smile Train Philippines. She adds, “This was a remarkable event where participants could share the dishes they learned how to make and live out the spirit of giving.”

Sotto-Pingris hosted the culinary class and taught participants how to make four full dishes: mixed greens with candied walnuts, tortilla crisps with avocado mango salsa, chicken parmigiana, and chocolate peppermint panna cotta.

The class took place at Back of the House in Xavierville Avenue, Quezon City and was sponsored by Glad. This project is a part of Glad’s corporate social responsibility program, Glad-To-Give. Now on its second year, Glad-To-Give Smiles aims to raise awareness about Smile Train and generate support for its programs in the country. 

To learn more about Smile Train, please follow them on Facebook (facebook.com/SmileTrainPhilippines), and on Instagram @SmileTrainPH (https://www.instagram.com/smiletrainph/).

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About Smile Train
Smile Train provides free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children in developing countries. Through training local doctors and empowering partner hospitals around the world, we advance a sustainable solution and scalable model to treat clefts, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, and speak over time. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org. For more information about Smile Train’s work in the Philippines, please contact philippines@smiletrain.org.

Go loco over Coco Strips and Coco Ube

Press release

Manila, Philippines – Young, adventurous individuals want more than just a drink that can keep them hydrated. What they want is a tasty yet healthy refreshment that can quench their thirst and give them energy for the day.

And when it comes to keeping the body properly hydrated, buko juice has been a classic favorite for being a natural source of electrolytes. Thanks to Buko Loco of the Fruitas Group of Companies for making buko juice available in a bottle to suit the lifestyle of on-the-go young professionals or yuppies.

Now, Buko Loco is diversifying its famous bottled buko juice with a twist by introducing new flavors of coconut goodness, which are tasty, healthy and exciting. The Coco Strips and Coco Ube offer new buko juice experiences to meet the varied preferences of the Filipino youth.

“At Buko Loco, we recognize that active and on-the-go yuppies do not settle for only one taste. They are adventurous with their choices and in need of diversity just like how they venture into a variety of outdoor activities. We want to complement this with a wider selection of flavors,” says Peter Carrillo, Marketing Manager of Fruitas Group of Companies.

The first new offering is the Coco Strips, which adds fresh buko meat strips to the classic Buko Loco juice, making it tastier and even healthier. As the coconut water keeps the body hydrated and help nerves function well, the coconut meat helps restore oxidative tissue damage and is a great source of healthy fats, proteins and various vitamins and minerals.

Meanwhile, Coco Ube makes flavored buko juices more appealing to those craving for a more adventurous local taste with its ube twist. The fresh and pure coconut juice is infused with creamy ube flavor, with nata crystals added to make the drink more enjoyable. It's not only tasty; it’s also good for the body as ube has antibacterial properties and is known to be a good source of carbohydrates. This drink can give adventurous souls more energy to keep them active throughout the day.

“Buko Loco does not shy away from introducing twists to our buko juices. As the leading fresh buko juice player in the industry, we have introduced other flavor combinations such as Coco Milko with Nata Crystals, and Coco Pandan with Green Jello. With the addition of Coco Strips and Coco Ube, we are further diversifying our selection to further suit our products to the lifestyle of young Filipinos,” says Carrillo.

Buko Loco’s Coco Strips is available in 330mL for only P 45.00 and in 500mL for P 55.00, while you can get Coco Ube in 330mL for only P49.00 and the 500mL for P 59.00. You can enjoy the coconut goodness of these new variants in all Buko Loco branches nationwide.

The launch of Buko Loco’s Coco Strips and Coco Ube is made possible by the Fruitas Group of Companies, a leader in the food cart industry in the Philippines known for delivering fresh beverages, sweet fruit desserts and tasty snacks.  For more updates on Buko Loco, you may follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BukoLocoPH/).

For more information, you may visit: http://fruitasgroup.com