This netizen was a “blessing in disguise” to a couple who recently opened their small coffee shop after her video featuring their business went viral on social media.
It all started when coffee lover Junize Bellen saw business owner Derrick Manasan at a gasoline station while she was en route to Tagaytay in October.
“Ang nangyari lang nun inapproach niya kami may hawak siya na agad na bottle ng coffee. Tapos sabi niya parang, “Ma’am, I’m selling this po.” Sabi ko, “Hay sakto may kape si Sir.” Tapos sa loob ng car everybody was, “‘Wag kang bumili mamaya nakawin ka niya, mamaya kunin ka ni kuya,” Junize shared with The Philippine STAR.
At first, Junize admitted that she hesitated to buy coffee from a random stranger.
“Sabi ko parang hindi naman kasi una sa lahat ‘yung T-shirt niya Christian T-shirt. Pangalawa ‘yung packaging niya maganda. Sabi ko mukha namang hindi niya ako nanakawin dahil lang sa kape. Kaya nung paglapit ko sa sasakyan ni Sir nung kami na lang dalawa, I remember ang una kong sinabi sa kanya, “Sir, hindi mo naman ako kikidnapin diba?” she added.
Junize shared that she was surprised when she saw Derrick’s car that’s full of coffee essentials and equipment. That’s when she realized that Derrick’s business is legit.
“Sabi ko, ‘Wow!’ Sabi ko, ‘This is hard work. This is not, hindi ‘to joke. Parang hindi ‘to something na ginagawa ng mga usual business owner.’ Parang ano talaga ‘to, something na pinaghirapan, pinag isipan,” she noted.
Junize said she enjoyed the coffee she bought from the random guy she met during the stopover. One day, she decided to upload a short video on social media hoping to share her “unique” experience.
“Nag-video ako pero sobrang quick lang kasi sa isip ko, ipromote ko ‘to sa Tiktok ko. Ako rin kahit ako nagulat ako na the people were really amazed by the whole idea and the whole concept,” Junize said.
The uploaded video on TikTok has already garnered more than 300,000 views on the social media platform.
Derrick along with his wife Sarah expressed their gratitude to Junize after the viral video helped their small business.
“Speechless, wow. Kasi nagsend lang din samin ng Tiktok is family. Sabi niya, “Ate, look at this oh. Si kuya Derrick.” Sabi ko, “Huh? Ano ‘yan?” Tapos parang nagkagulatan na lang kami. Hindi na namin kailangan magbayad for boost parang siya na mismo gumawa ng way na sobrang wow, amazing,” Sarah said.
“‘Yung TikTok lumabas, maggra-grand opening na kami [in] one week. Parang sabi ko, “Grabe si Lord.” Ako taga-pray na lang talaga ako kaya nagulat ako nung nabentahan niya ng coffee si Miss Junize,”she added.
From 30-40 cups of coffee per day, the couple would now sell around 80-100 cups.
According to Derrick, selling coffee in different gasoline stations was his way of promoting his first physical store.
“Nagpro-promote ako dun sa mga gas stations kasi gusto ko ako mismo ‘yung mismong lalapit sa mga customers. para makita nila kung ano ‘yung quality na kaya kong ibigay sa kanila.’Yung mga small talk kasimay impact ‘yun sa tao. So habang bibili sila nung naka-promo na drinks, merong kumustahan,” Derrick told The Philippine STAR.
“Nakakatuwa kasi nakikita ko naman ‘yung mga comments na maraming na i-inspire. Iba kasi pagka ‘yung owner is may galaw,” he added.
