Mang Inasal history and Owner Success Story – Background and Vision
Are you curious how a 250 square metre restaurant became the Philippines’ biggest fast-food chain from street food? Do you want to know how a kicked person from university became the youngest billionaire?
We can answer all of your queries in this article. After reading it, you will return with a new thought and passion.
History of Mang Inasal
Mang Inasal comes from the word “Mang,” which means “Mr.” in English, and “Inasal,” which is derived from “Inhaw.” They called it Mr. Barbecue. Edger Sia II was the founder of Mang Inasal. He was an “INJAP,” which means half Chinese and half Japanese. On December 12, 2003, at 26, he decided to take a big risk instead of pursuing a degree in architecture.
After consulting with a business advisor and receiving his family’s support, he opened a 250-square-meter branch in a 3-year-old unoccupied space in Robinson’s Mall parking lot in Iloilo City. The owner of Mang inasal knew that the Filipino barbecue quick-service restaurant still had growth potential. He understood how to win the hearts of Filipinos, so he started Mang Inasal with traditional Filipino cuisine, a dine-in concept, and unlimited rice and soup.
If you want to try making a dish that’s close to Mang Inasal’s heart, check out our Mang Inasal Pork BBQ recipe. It brings the flavors of Mang Inasal straight to your kitchen, allowing you to enjoy this popular Filipino dish at home.
The primary reason for Mang Inasal’s success was its wide range of Filipino comfort food, including chicken Inasal with its distinct taste that Filipinos love. He began serving Filipinos Chicken Inasal, Pork BBQ, and unlimited rice and soup. They received numerous awards for their outstanding quick-service restaurant in 2008, 2010, and 2015, and they have continued to win awards in subsequent years.
Today, Mang Inasal is a leading brand in the Philippines, known for its strong portfolio of Chicken Inasal, Pork BBQ, Halo-Halo, and many other items. Variations are regularly developed on the menu to meet customer demands.
If you want to see the complete menu with updated prices then go to Mang inasal Menu to see all the details.
Mang Inasal Milestones
MICC Success
In March 2022, MICC (Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle) was created. The main purpose of its establishment was to create a digital presence which works. With only 30 members who love Mang Inasal collaborated with brand ambassadors and started digital campaigns to promote Mang Inasal. The result of these campaigns was very fruitful, only one year later these 30 members expanded from 30 to 160 members and created different types of content creators like the Gen Zs and TikTokerists.
To promote Mang Inasal content creators they use the #ILoveMangInasal hashtag. On social media, like TikTok, they have 315 million+ views and have over 128,000 posts now. They have over 139.8k followers on TikTok. The MICC partnered with the biggest content creators in the region including Simon Javier of Metro Manila; Mommy Hieds and Gorgeous George of North Luzon; Mommy Diaries PH of South Luzon; Mortejo Twins and Zamboanga Guide of Visayas and Mindanao.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) awarded Mang Inasal as a Hall of Fame Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Franchising in the Food and Large-Scale Category.
Celebration
Mang Inasal Public Relations Manager Ed Timbungco said “We appreciate how MICC has added a new spark to how we tell our brand story,”
Rodillo said “MICC is one of our biggest achievements in 2023 because we have connected with different communities of customers through our content partners nationwide,”
MICC was recently awarded the Black Dragon recognition under the Best Brand Building/Awareness Campaign category at the prestigious 2023 Dragons of Asia.
Mang Inasal organized meet-ups nationwide through Zoom to celebrate success and award their best performance members. MICC has a large participation in the success of Mang Inasal. The MICC thinks to start a partnership with innovative content creators on different social platforms it can increase its presence from some places to all Philippines.
Now every person can order Mang Inasal items through social media platforms. Through social media platforms, they offer different deals, discounts and many other promotions to engage the community. With the help of Mang Inasal’s success, Sia makes it to the Forbes List of 40 Richest Filipinos.
Reasons behind success
Authentic Filipino Taste
The primary reason for the success of Mang Inasal in a very short time is its signature dish Chicken Inasal which is marinated in special marinades with a traditional style that offers customers distinct sauces and unlimited rice which won the hearts of Filipinos. Mang Inasal also offers many other dishes such as Sisig, Pork BBQ, Halo-Halo and many other items.
Affordable Prices
Affordable prices also have a crucial role in his success. The affordable prices make foods accessible to a wide range of consumers including, students, families and office workers.
Unlimited Rice Concept
Before starting Mang Inasal CEO learned different strategies to grow the business. One of the strategies that can implied in the restaurant is its unlimited rice concept. Due to its unlimited rice offer a wide range of customers are attracted to Mang Inasal.
Effective Marketing
The restaurant utilized many effective strategies to promote its brand. They often offered different promotions, deals, and discount codes to engage the community with the restaurant. In this regard, Mang Inasal MICC become a great success.
Quality and Consistency
Mang Inasal has maintained the quality of Chicken Inasal and other variations of food from its establishment and also has a vision to continue in future to provide its customers a quality food. Mang Inasal has a 2in1 food checker that maintained the food quality since 2003.
Franchising Model
The franchise model allowed entrepreneurs to invest in and start their own Mang Inasal stores that contribute to Mang Inasal’s expansion. The rapid growth in franchising helped Mang Inasal to be recognised nationwide and worldwide. Now, there are 570+ branches in the Philippines of which 96% are franchises that present Mang Inasal.
Innovation
In 2003, there were only limited options on the Mang Inasal menu such as Chicken Inasal, Pork BBQ and some other items. Now, there are variations of foods in a Mang Inasal menu to meet customer demands.
Digital transformation
Mang Inasal can do many transformations over time. The major transformation in Mang Inasal is that it offers an online delivery service. Mang Inasal now become a major recognised in social media.
Why Jollibee buy Mang Inasal?
In 2016 Tony Tan Caktiong decided to buy Mang Inasal by watching his successful history. There were many reasons why Jubilee bought Mang Inasal, including the following:
A Potential Competitor
Jubilee was a leading food chain in the Philippines. Apart from KFC, Domino and other brands, Mang Inasal became a potential competitor of Jubilee because Mang Inasal offered Chicken BBQ while Jubilee offered their customers roasted chicken. Mang Inasal also served unlimited rice on banana leaves which attracted a large audience and became the cause of Mang Inasal’s popularity. After seeing the growth and popularity of Mang Inasal, Jubilee decided to buy Mang Inasal.
Growth of Mang Inasal
The glorious growth of Mang Inasal was shocking for Jubilee and other businesses. At the time of collaboration, 330+ stores were more than Jubilee. By seeing this Jubilee decided to act upon this advice”If you can’t beat them, join them” and bought Mang Inasal.
Market Leadership
Jubilee was the leading fast-food chain in the Philippines but with the growth of Mang Inasal Jubilee found its leading at risk so, it bought Mang Inasal and acquired its strength as a leading fast-food chain in the Philippines.
Profit
Jubilee knew the potential growth of Mang Inasal and Jubilee also wanted to increase its shares by seeing all the factors Jubilee decided to buy Mang Inasal. After this deal, Jubilee sales skyrocket by 10%. Now, you get the answer as to why Jubilee bought Mang Inasal.
Overlapping Products and customers
At the start, Mang Inasal offered chicken BBQ but they started to offer variations of foods including Halo-Halo, Sisig, Pork BBQ and many other items which can eager the Jubilee to add variations in their menu due to traditional and affordable prices of Mang Inasal major community of customers redirect to Mang Inasal from Jubilee.
Do you know Edger Sia?
Edger Sia is known as a prominent businessman and entrepreneur who founded Injab Investment Holdings. Inc. company that owns the Mang Inasal. He was born on 9 January 1977. His parents were half Chinese and half Japanese. He wanted to become an architect but he was kicked out due to bad performance this can eager Sia to open a fast-food restaurant.
Career
Edger Sia started his entrepreneurial journey with a small bakery and other small businesses then he started a fast food restaurant Mang Inasal in 2003. The mission and vision of Edger Sia behind the restaurant can give exceptional growth and in 2010, he sold 70% shares of Mang Inasal to JFC (Jobillee Foods Corporation) and became the youngest Philippine billionaire.
Then he started the real estate business under Injap Land Corporation. This corporation is also known as Double Dragon Corporation. In 2014, Double Dragon became a public corporation and he developed hundreds of malls and other buildings.
Awards
Edger Sia received numerous awards in different fields. He was honoured with the Entrepreneur of the Year award, and he was honoured with Business Leader of the Year and also got several industry-specific awards in food, retail and property development.
Mang Inasal Awards 2022 – 2025
| 2025 | 60th Anvil Awards | Gold Anvil for Pork BBQ Media Launch under the PR Programs – Marketing and Brand Communication category |
| 2025 | 60th Anvil Awards | Gold Anvil for #MangInasalKahitSaan Digital and PR campaign under the PR Programs – Best Use of Digital category |
| 2025 | 60th Anvil Awards | Silver Anvil for “Love the Flavors, Love the Philippines” under the PR Programs – Arts & Culture/Heritage/Tourism category, |
| 2024 | Brand Finance | ASEAN’s fastest-growing brand in Southeast Asia in 2024 |
| 2024 | Brand Finance | Strongest Brand in the Philippines |
| 2024 | Kantar BrandZ | Most Valuable Philippine Brand, Fast Food |
| 2024 | Campaign Asia-Pacific | 7th Place – Top 10 Food Brands in Southeast Asia 3rd Place – Top 10 Food Brands in the Philippines |
| 2024 | Franchising Excellence Awards | Best Marketing Campaign – Large-Scale Food Business (Hall of Fame) – Mang Inasal |
| 2024 | 21st International Business Awards | Influencer Marketing Campaign of the Year (Gold) for Pioneering A New Era of Marketing with the Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle (MICC) |
| 2024 | 21st International Business Awards | Engaged Community of the Year (Gold) for Mang Inasal Nation |
| 2024 | 21st International Business Awards | Viral Marketing Campaign of the Year (Silver) for NBA Superstar Dwight Howard’s Love for Mang Inasal goes Viral |
| 2024 | 21st International Business Awards | Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Community Engagement (Bronze) for #ILoveMangInasal Campaign |
| 2024 | 20th Philippine Quill Awards | Communication Management – Customer Relations (Award of Excellence) for Mang Inasal Nation Facebook Group |
| 2024 | 20th Philippine Quill Awards | Communication Skills – Social Media (Award of Excellence) for #ILoveMangInasal Facebook Page Content Revamp |
| 2024 | 20th Philippine Quill Awards | Communication Management – Marketing, Advertising, and Brand Communication (Award of Excellence) for #MangInasalFamilyFiesta TikTok Challenge |
| 2024 | 20th Philippine Quill Awards | Communication Skills – Social Media (Award of Merit) for Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle |
| 2024 | 59th Anvil Awards | Best Use of Social Media (Gold) for Mang Inasal Nation Facebook Group |
| 2024 | 59th Anvil Awards | Best Use of Influencer Marketing (Gold) for Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle |
| 2024 | 59th Anvil Awards | Best Use of Social Media (Gold) for #MangInasalMOMents Mother’s Day Celebration |
| 2024 | 59th Anvil Awards | Best Use of Social Media (Gold) for #ILoveMangInasal Facebook Page Content Revamp |
| 2024 | 59th Anvil Awards | Marketing and Brand Communication (Silver) for #NationalHaloHaloBlowout |
| 2024 | 11th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards | Innovation in the Use of Viral Media/Word of Mouth (Silver) for #MangInasalMOMents Mother’s Day DPR Campaign |
| 2024 | 11th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards | Innovation in the Use of Social Media (Bronze) for #MangInasalAt20 Anniversary Milestone |
| 2024 | 11th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards | Innovation in the Use of Viral Media/Word of Mouth (Bronze) for Dwight Howard’s Love for Mang Inasal |
| 2024 | 11th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards | Most Innovative Communications Team of the Year (Bronze) for Mang Inasal’s Digital and Public Relations Group |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Excellence in Anniversary Marketing (Gold) for #MangInasalAt20: The 20th Anniversary Digital and PR Campaign |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Excellence in Influencer/KOLs Marketing (Silver) for Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Excellence in Customer Engagement (Silver) for National Halo-Halo Blowout |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Excellence in Integrated Marketing (Bronze) for MAS Juicy Campaign |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Marketing Leader of the Year (Bronze) for Mang Inasal Marketing Head Allan C.Tan |
| 2024 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 | Marketing Team of the Year (Bronze) for Mang Inasal Marketing Team |
| 2024 | Grab Fan Faves | Platinum Winner, Roasted Chicken Category – PM1 |
| 2024 | Grab Fan Faves | Trending Favorites Winner, Dessert Category – ECHH |
| 2024 | Grab Fan Faves | Trending Favorites Winner, Filipino Category – Pork BBQ |
| 2023 | 58th Anvil Awards | Public Relations Tool – Social Media (Silver) for Mother’s Day #MomsRuleAtMangInasal |
| 2023 | 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards | Innovation in the Use of Viral Media or Word of Mouth (Gold) for #MangInasalFamilyFiesta TikTok Challenge |
| 2023 | PANAta Awards 2023 | Effective Use of Marketing Channels – Single Medium-Digital (Silver) for #MangInasalFamilyFiesta TikTok Challenge |
| 2023 | Dragons of Asia | Best Brand Building/Awareness Campaign (Black Dragon) for Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle |
| 2023 | Grab Fan Faves | Platinum Winner, Roasted Chicken Category – PM1 |
| 2023 | Grab Fan Faves | Platinum Winner, Dessert Category – ECHH |
| 2023 | Grab Fan Faves | Nominee, Operational Excellence |
| 2023 | TripZilla Philippines | No. 1 Inasal Place in Manila |
| 2023 | PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. | 2nd Place – Most Endeared Restaurant Brands in PAHAYAG 2023-Q2 Survey |
| 2023 | RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. | Top 3 Fast Food Restaurant in the Philippines |
| 2022 | Marketing Excellence Awards 2022 | Excellence in Viral Marketing (Silver) for 16 Cups Challenge |
Why Did Edger Sia Sell Mang Inasal?
There are no clear-cut reasons why Edger Sia sold Mang Inasal but there are some possibilities which have been thought of by different journalists:
If you to get a franchise from Mang Inasal then read my article Mang Inasal Franchising to get information about cost & investment, contract and ROI, application process, eligibility requirements and all other details.
Conclusion
In short, there were several difficulties faced by Edger Sia behind the success of Mang Inasal. This was not an overnight success. He spent 20 years of his life taking Mang Inasal at this stage. So, we get inspiration from the life of Mang Inasal’s founder.
