Author

Jomarie Q. Aliñabon
University of Cebu
Cebu City, Philippines
Email: jomarie.alinabon26@gmail.com

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has revamped the global landscape in various industries, including food and beverage. For instance, the café and bakeries faced extraordinary challenges that forced the business to adapt and innovate to survive the crisis. Initially, each country started to lock its borders, hindering people from traveling from one place to another. It also affects the supply chain, including the in and out of food supplies from other countries. Then, quarantine guidelines were implemented to manage and control people’s movement. At the same time, social distancing was implemented to avoid spreading the virus from human to human. Also, the frequent wearing of facemasks in open spaces was implemented. This study investigated the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on a home-grown café and bakery business in Cebu City, Philippines, C.Y. 2024. The study used the qualitative method to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sustainability strategies that the café and bakery company in Cebu City applied. This study was undertaken by a popular café and baking company, in which the main office and the commissary are located in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City, Cebu. It operated thirteen (13) stores in malls, strips, and other casual places in the city. The informants of this study were the five (5) decision-makers of the company who were present before, during, and post-pandemic period. The researcher utilized the researcher-made interview guide, mainly consisting of open-ended questions subjected to content validation from a business expert, to determine the validity, fitness, and viability of the questions about the problem statement. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data gathered through interviews. The proceedings of this investigation adhered to the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy. The themes developed for the crucial strategies applied to sustain the business during the crisis and towards the recovery by the decision-makers of the café and bakery company of Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines are Leveraging Customer Traffic and Maintaining Positive Brand Image, Digital Marketing and Flexible Ordering Options Thru Adopting Emerging E-Commerce, Communication Transparency to Existing Customers, Faithful Adherence to Health and Safety Regulations, Work Force Redirection, Optimization and Well-Being Support Provision, Embracing Digital Transformation: Aided Business Process Amid the Business Crisis and Optimizing Revenue While Minimizing Costs. The themes created for the sustainability strategies that lead towards attaining the business objective of increasing sales and expanding marketing are Customer Acquisition and Retention in the New Business Normal, Continuous Product Innovation and Diversification and Strong Support to Local Suppliers and Business Community. Therefore, the café and bakery showed resiliency and implemented various strategies to recover and achieve sustainability by adapting online platforms for ordering and delivery and financial technology and reducing operational expenses.

Keywords: business strategy, sustainability, Covid-19 pandemic, café and bakery industry, multi-method, Cebu, Philippines

DOI: http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS0404630

Recommended citation:

Aliñabon, J. Q. (2025). Café and Bakery business crisis: A sustainability model. Pantao (The International Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences) 4 (4), 6869-6877. http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS0404630

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