Potato Corner

Potato Corner (colloquially known as PotCor) is a Philippine food franchise known for its flavored French fries. Potato Corner's first stall opened up in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, Philippines, on October 16, 1992 under Cinco Corporation.^[2]

Potato Corner

Current logo since 2023
Product type	French fries outlet chain
Owner	Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI)
Country	Philippines
Introduced	1992; 33 years ago (1992)[1]
Markets	Southeast Asia, Middle East, East Asia, Oceania, North America, Europe

History

A Potato Corner outlet at Ayala Malls Central Bloc, Cebu City

Potato Corner was founded by Jose Magsaysay Jr., Ricky Montelibano, Danny Bermejo and George Wieneke in 1992. Montelibano is Magsaysay's brother-in-law and was the first to introduce flavored popcorn to the Philippines. Although he had been working for a local Wendy's for nine years, Magsaysay needed to support his family and came up with the idea of flavored fries, based on Montelibano's business. They had to borrow money to raise the starting financial capital of ₱150,000 (US$ 5879.47, equivalent to ₱150,000 in 2021). Magsaysay left his management job at Wendy's and the first Potato Corner, a cart in Mandaluyong, opened in October 1992. Within thirty days, all of them were able to pay back their loans.^[3][4]

Former logo used until 2023, but still used in their packaging.

After their initial success, they began to consider expanding through franchises. Magsaysay knew only the basics of franchising from his job at Wendy's and at the time it was a novel idea in the Philippines. As such, their first franchisee agreements were largely informal and their first franchisee signed a document they copied from online. The group raised funds for their expansion and quickly became large in the local market.^[3]

A Potato Corner outlet at Xibeiwang MIXC, Beijing, China

In 2006, Potato Corner opened its first international store in Indonesia.^[5] This was followed by Potato Corner's first entry in the United States in February 2010 and first store in the United States in 2012.^[5] In April 2017, Potato Corner opened its first Hong Kong franchise in Tsim Sha Tsui.^[6]

In 2021, Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., the Philippine franchise of Shakey's Pizza, acquired Potato Corner;^[7] the acquisition deal was completed in 2022.^[8][9] As of 2024, Potato Corner has more than 1,100 stores in the Philippines, with international operations in Indonesia, the United States, Panama, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Kuwait, Malaysia, Canada, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, and the United Arab Emirates. In late 2022, the franchise expanded to the United Kingdom opening the first outlet in London. The franchise also expanded to New Zealand opening its first outlet in Auckland and in the United Arab Emirates opening their first outlet store in Ibn Battuta Mall.^[5]

Awards and recognition

Potato Corner garnered a number of accolades through the years. Potato Corner bagged the Best Franchisee of the Year for three consecutive years from PFA and DTI. Awarded by the same organizations, Potato Corner also received the Franchisee Excellence Hall of Fame Award in 2003 and the Global Filipino Franchise Award in 2017.^[10]

Marketing and advertising

Mascot

Potato Corner's official mascot, Poco (formerly Spudster), was introduced by the brand in 2009, and can be seen in all of its stores and buckets. Spudster received a Master License for Los Angeles County in 2009.^[11]

Criticisms and controversies

In August 2023, Potato Corner Philippines received online backlash when a job posting for a branch in Dasmariñas, Cavite deemed to be discriminatory went viral on social media, garnering criticism and calls to boycott their products. The company deleted the post and apologized for it.^[12][13][14]