UCC Clockwork opens One Ayala branch, rolls out new menu

UCC Clockwork, one of the units under the UCC Philippines umbrella, opened on April 10 at the new One Ayala Mall. It also comes armed with a new menu that will be exclusive to the branch for the first two months of its operation, and then rolled out in other branches.

UCC Clockwork belongs to the family of UCC cafes, brought here by the Mugen Group. Under UCC, there are other units like Park Cafe, Cafe Terrace, Vienna Cafe, and at 8 Rockwell, a coffee-and-cocktail concept. Meanwhile, under the Mugen group, they have the franchises in the Philippines for CoCo Ichibanya, Mos Burger, and Mitsuyado Sei-Men; among others.

BusinessWorld sat down to a media preview of the cafe on April 5, where we tucked into Honey Mustard Chicken Karaage, Beef and Tendon Caldereta Omurice, Meatloaf and Gravy, and Miso Mushroom Risotto with Salmon. The Beef and Tendon Caldereta shared a homey and filling quality; while the chicken karaage tasted mild and sweet. Of these, the Miso Mushroom Risotto takes the prize for being the most memorable of the dishes, displaying an earthy quality tempered by a very fine salmon fillet. The dish displays a sophistication not often seen in coffee shops.

Robert Francisco, Director of UCC Coffee Academy Philippines and Coffee Master, discussed the difference of Clockwork among the other UCC units in the Philippines. “Clockwork tends to go to the millennials, but we’re flexible to adapt to newer trends which are of the younger generations, for more sophistication.” Among these trends, he notes more innovation, and fruitier and fermented flavors. “It’s different from the traditional dark roast; simple,” he said. “Clockworks can be more experimental; more trendy.” Clockwork branches are found in Pasig’s Arcovia and Estancia, Bluebay Walk, BGC’s Burgos Circle, Nuvali, Vertis North, and even Cebu and Bacolod.

These are parsed out outside Metro Manila to franchisees, a new key for their expansion game. “Hometown nila iyon, kilala nila iyong market (that’s their hometown, they know the market,” said Mr. Francisco. “They know the community more.” Other UCC units are expected to open at the University of the Philippines – Diliman (UPD) campus, and in Dumaguete.

UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. was founded in Japan by Tadao Ueshima as a western food store in 1933, but went into coffee in the 60’s. In the Philippines, it has held a presence for 23 years. “Japan’s UCC does not look like this,” Mr. Francisco noted. “It’s very subtle,” he said, pointing out wood elements and profiles customers as “serious (coffee) drinkers,” and “nothing fancy” with food and cocktails. “UCC Asia Pacific is watching us to observe as a benchmark of all this innovation.”

Speaking of innovation, it is with this word that sets apart UCC and Japanese coffee culture, among the many cafes that dot the Philippines, with chain ones having American parent companies. Mr. Francisco pointed out that UCC came out with the first ready-to-drink canned coffee. “The point is, even UCC Japan is very innovative…a lot of traditional tastes and preparation, but they’re innovative in creating coffee.”

He also notes that coffee does not come from Japan, but like other things they have adopted, when it enters their shores, they come out with an even more superior product (many times, at least) than the original. “When they start roasting it, they don’t want to lose quality. They will choose good inventory. They have actually innovated in reinfusing the aromatics that get lost during roasting and packaging,” he said.

“They will try to find ways to make it better,” he said.

UCC Clockwork One Ayala is located across the street from Uniqlo Greenbelt 5. — JL Garcia