Vegetarian siopao at Johnlu Koa's The French Baker now sells like croissants
The vegetarian market has arrived.
Who would have thought that Johnlu Koa, who created a French bakery-cafe after trips to France in the the early ‘80s, would create vegetarian siopao, which is now selling like croissants at his highly popular The French Baker?
Today, 32 years later, The French Baker continues to innovate, coming up with new, unique and yummy products.
His latest offering, which he came up with during the pandemic, is a vegetarian siopao, a quick and light snack for a healthy lifestyle.
It is because Koa believes that the vegetarian/vegan food has gone mainstream and will be around for years to come.
French food for filipinos
“French Baker was established in 1989,” he says. “We are in 65 locations nationwide. In 2020, the market for vegetarian/vegan started growing, albeit slowly. Going vegetarian was a necessary growth vector for our brand, as consumers embraced veganism, especially during this pandemic.”
In 1989 Koa had a gut feel that The French Baker would be accepted by the Pinoy consumer. Today, he continues to have a feel for what his customers want.
“Testimonials abound in social media about the wonders vegan/vegetarian diets do to one’s health,” Koa adds.
Koa believes that 80 percent of the vegan/vegetarian market is vegetarian and 20 percent are vegan.
“My understanding is that while both don’t eat animal-based proteins, vegetarians are okay with dairy, cheese and eggs, while vegans are not,” Koa shares. “We tend to attract whole-grain vegans because of the many whole grains and sourdough bread varieties we have. I believe that the majority of this vegan/vegetarian market is composed of vegetarians who consume butter, eggs, cheese and milk.”
He knows that the more liberal vegetarians who stick to a diet that’s free of animal-based ingredients are the people who come to The French Baker.
Some vegetarian products that contain eggs/cheese/dairy are croissants, brioche, scones, cinnamon bread, carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies, raisin walnut cookies, Danish pastries, and Parisian crepes.
Their vegan products that are strictly free of animal products and byproducts are the new vegetarian siopao (which is dairy and egg-free), baguettes, French sourdough, walnut sourdough, 100-percent whole grain, walnut-raisin bread, tortilla, pita, sourdough rye bread, focaccia, and ciabatta, among others.
The French Baker Café & Restaurant offers a vegan sandwich made of plant-based protein and roasted veggies. Popular among vegetarians are their French quiches: mushroom cheese and broccoli cheese. “Vegans go for roasted vegetable pasta aglio e olio,” Koa notes. “Vegetarians can do creamy spaghetti primavera with roasted vegetables.”
Koa added these vegetarian meals to the French Baker menu in 2014, when they celebrated French Baker’s 25th anniversary. “The reason was that I followed the ‘Fit for Life’ diet that did not allow a mix of animal protein and carbs, so vegetarian food with plant-based protein and carbs like bread and rice became a staple.”
A tasty project
This innovator and game changer is particularly proud of the Pinoy Tasty project, which he established in 2009 together with nine other large-format member bakeries in DTI-supported PhilBaking industry association.
Koa’s vision was to come up with subsidized Pinoy Tasty bread that could be made possible because supermarkets agreed to a lower markup. He is proud of the 40 million loaves sold annually, with a 30-percent subsidy by 10 Philbaking member bakeries sharing the same packaging design and materials that kept costs down.
This ability and desire to be in touch with his market is what has kept him ahead.
Family matters
The conversation turns to family and Koa’s wife, Alou, and his three children, ages 25, 23 and 14. None of them are vegetarian, by the way.
Koa, although not a strict vegetarian himself, says, “I go vegetarian twice a week. My personal favorite is Caesar salad on a warm baguette sandwich.”
He feels that the green foods market will expand even further as the global demand for healthy eating increases over time. “I see that in five years’ time, a new vegan/vegetarian category will find its place in the menus of major restos and food chains. Clients will demand more veggie food choices and restos will exploit this lucrative and growing market in time.”
As an example, he says that for dessert, coconut and almond milk can replace traditional cow’s milk/cream, or that processed, plant-based meat will be used to make vegan pasta Bolognese, for example.
Bread in its natural form will also be a big hit among vegans and vegetarians, as these can still be made delicious with or without the use of butter, cheese, eggs or cow’s milk.
As an aside, Koa shares that in the late ’90s he went vegetarian for three years. “My overall health was excellent. I lost 35 pounds,” he laughs. “I only stopped doing it after spending five days in the hospital because of dengue. My mom kept telling me to start taking animal meats because it’s more nutritious, and even the traditional Chinese medicine doctors said the same.”
Their belief, he shares, was that animal protein has better immune-boosting qualities than plant proteins.
“I guess many believe that this kind of thinking is debatable,” he muses.
Koa created The French Baker’s vegetarian siopao during the lockdown, when he realized that his own snacking needed to follow the Fit for Life diet regimen, so he decided to pack it six mini pieces. “Some people buy the siopao for health reasons, while others may consider it trendy and what’s in!” he declares. “I also saw the proliferation of inexpensive but useful electric steamers (for heating up products like our siopao). Many households will find need for this in the future and it can be placed alongside their bread toasters.”
Diet consciousness is a result of one’s personal beliefs and value system. And, judging from the sales of The French Baker vegetarian siopao, going vegetarian or vegan is something that people of all generations are picking up. They’re including vegetarian products in their diets.
Forward Thinking
“The future is exciting as more and more options are available for us to explore,” says an optimistic Koa. “Plant-based foods are now as convenient as animal-based, as they are slowly being made available in other fast-food restos. Soon we can have them readily available in supermarkets and other online stores.”
Johnlu Koa looks forward to a healthier future and sees an opportunity to develop new, yummy and healthy products for The French Baker, a sure sign that the future of healthy eating has arrived and The French Baker is ready for it.
