I get excited whenever a favorite Filipino brand is about to set its foot here abroad. Rightly so, I was thrilled when I heard that “Mang Inasal” is opening in Dubai. Who wouldn’t? “Mang Inasal is Mang Inasal.” You can’t make a mistake about its name.
But when I saw the logo, I thought there’s something strange. As somebody who works closely with branding, and as a keen observer, I noticed the font, shapes and other graphic elements are a bit different from the logo we know, although the color palette are the same.
Maybe they did a little tweak to the brand, I thought. So I seek clarification from the official Mang Inasal Philippines Facebook page asking about the impending “launch” in Dubai.
Apparently there is no Mang Inasal franchise opening in Dubai.
Here’s our short conversation:
The reply was straightforward, “Maraming salamat sa impormasyong ito. Sa ngayon, wala pa pong international branches and Mang Inasal.” (Thank you so much for this info. Right now, there is no Mang Inasal international branches yet.)
To be fair, I also asked the ‘Mang Inasal restaurant in Dubai’ of the same question:
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| *famous |
They claimed to be authentic, albeit not answering my question directly.
Authentic is defined as…
This is sad. If there is authenticity, there should be no intent to “copy” the original. Why not create a unique identity instead? Why do something so close to the original identity – name, font, color, logo – even the “unli-rice” marketing strategy, the uniform, etc.
Every Filipino who will know about a “Mang Inasal in Dubai” will always ask, “Ka-lasa ba ng sa Pinas?” because there will always be a first impression that this is a franchise.
I’ve heard the food is good. Why not capitalize on that and gain customers based on your own identity?