WHAT makes a restaurant brand influential? Is it the number of stores it operates, the meals it serves, or the memories it creates for its customers?
For Mang Inasal, it is a combination of these everyday experiences. The brand formally received its Influential Brands® trophy on Aug. 24, following its recognition as the 2025 Top Brand in the Philippines under the QSR Grilled Category in April 2026.
Rather than influence being something a brand simply claims, being an influential brand is built through the experiences customers have with it—from the food they crave, to the convenience of getting their grilled favorites, to the people who serve them.
Here are five things that help make Mang Inasal an influential brand among Filipino consumers:
- It understands what Filipinos want from a meal
At the heart of Mang Inasal is a simple Filipino dining insight: good food is better when it is shared.
Its Ihaw-Sarap offerings, familiar Filipino flavors, and generous meal options have made the brand a choice for different dining occasions—from quick meals anytime and anywhere during the day to family gatherings and celebrations with friends.
Whether it is a craving for Chicken Inasal and unli rice or a shared meal with family and friends, Mang Inasal builds its menu around the ways Filipinos enjoy food: generously, together, and with room for a little extra saya experience.
For Mang Inasal President Mike V. Castro, this everyday connection is what gives the recognition its meaning.
“Influence is something that is earned over time. For Mang Inasal, it comes from the trust Filipinos have placed in us and from being part of their everyday moments. This recognition inspires us to continue earning that trust.”
- It keeps the Filipino dining experience at the center
As food trends and consumer preferences change, Filipino diners continue to look for experiences that feel familiar while offering something worth coming back to.
Mang Inasal continues to build around its distinctly Filipino identity, allowing the brand to evolve without losing sight of what consumers have come to know and enjoy. This strong sense of identity gives the brand a foundation from which it can evolve while remaining recognizably Mang Inasal.
This balance is particularly important as Mang Inasal connects with consumers across generations, from longtime customers to younger Filipinos discovering the brand for the first time.
- It makes the Mang Inasal experience accessible across more occasions
A strong restaurant brand is not only about what is on the menu. It is also about the convenience of enjoying the meals anytime and anywhere its customers prefer.
Mang Inasal continues to expand its store network and customer touchpoints, making its offerings more accessible to Filipinos across the country. Today, Mang Inasal has over 600 stores nationwide, reflecting the brand’s growing reach and the continued demand for its distinctly Filipino dining experience.
From physical stores to digital and delivery channels, these efforts allow customers to enjoy Mang Inasal in ways that fit their changing routines and dining occasions.
- It continues to evolve with its customers
Staying relevant means listening to consumers and responding to how their habits change.
Mang Inasal has continued to evolve its consumer touchpoints alongside changing dining habits. Its revamped Mang Inasal Delivery app and website, for one, give customers a more convenient way to order and engage with the brand digitally, complementing its growing network of physical stores and delivery channels.
Mang Inasal has also explored new digital experiences and ways to engage with the younger and more diverse consumers, including its MI UNIVerse and Mang Inasal Creators’ Circle.
As for its offerings, Mang Inasal continues to refresh its menu around changing consumer interests and occasions, from seasonal treats such as its Extra Creamy Halo-Halo offerings to campaigns that give familiar favorites new reasons to enjoy. It is also exploring growth opportunities in underrepresented dayparts such as breakfast and merienda.
For Mari P. Aldecoa, Vice President for Marketing at Mang Inasal, this balance between evolution and authenticity is key to staying connected to the consumers.
“As Filipino consumers and their preferences evolve, we continue to listen and find new ways to stay relevant while remaining true to what makes Mang Inasal distinctly Filipino. That allows us to continue building meaningful connections across generations.”
These efforts show how Mang Inasal responds to changing consumer behaviors while keeping its core Filipino character at the center.
- It delivers the Ihaw-Sarap, Unli-Saya experience consistently
Influence is built not only through big campaigns, but through the thousands of customer interactions that happen every day.
Behind every Mang Inasal meal is an operating team working to deliver a consistent experience across its growing network of stores. This includes the people ensuring quality and safe food at the commissary to the store teams who prepare and serve the meals, as well as the franchisees and their manage teams as well as the back-end units supporting operations behind the scenes.
This consistency helps turn individual dining experiences into the familiarity and trust that consumers associate with the brand.
Influence That Is Earned Every Day
A mark of Mang Inasal’s continued influence among Filipino consumers, the Influential Brands® trophy recognizes the brand as the 2025 Top Brand in the Philippines under the QSR Grilled Category.
For Mang Inasal, influence is built through the everyday experiences that keep customers coming back—from enjoying familiar Filipino flavors to sharing meals with family and friends.
As the brand continues to grow, its focus remains on staying close to Filipino consumers, improving the ways they experience Mang Inasal, and making its offerings more accessible across the country. In the end, the brand’s influence is reflected not only in the recognition it receives, but in the place it continues to hold in the everyday dining habits and moments of Filipinos.
