For Maritel Nievera, founder and CEO of Cabalen Group of Restaurants, business success hasn’t always come from innovation — sometimes, it came from knowing when to adapt.
“There was a time when our sales suffered terribly because we had one competitor who was offering a buffet service at a very low price,” she recalls.
At the time, Cabalen operated as a high-end, à la carte restaurant. But the market was shifting. Diners were gravitating toward buffet-style concepts that offered more value for less. Cabalen’s premium pricing made it hard to compete — and Nievera knew she had to act fast.
“What I did was rethink our strategy and adopt my competitor’s model,” she says. “I observed and simply copied how they did it, including their marketing campaign, and offered our price at ₱100 lower than the competition.”
It was a bold move. Transitioning from à la carte to buffet-style dining required operational changes, pricing adjustments, and a complete shift in brand positioning. But Nievera didn’t hesitate.
The strategy worked. Customers who had drifted away returned, and the brand began to attract a new wave of diners looking for value, variety, and familiarity. Cabalen quickly found its new identity — as a well-loved Filipino buffet restaurant.
“Since then,” she says, “Cabalen has been known as a buffet restaurant.”
What began as a reactive move turned into a long-term strategy — one that helped the company not just survive, but thrive in a highly competitive food industry.
The takeaway:
Sometimes, the smartest strategy isn’t reinventing the wheel — it’s recognizing what works, adapting quickly, and executing with purpose. Maritel Nievera didn’t let pride get in the way. She made the shift — and in doing so, turned a challenge into the foundation of her brand’s success.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
