Aug 16, 2019

Chase the rainy day blues away with exciting perks from PayMaya this August!


The rain may be ruining your much-awaited plans outdoors but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun indoors! And with PayMaya by your side this rainy season, it’s easy to chase the blues away by playing games, binge-watching movies, or shopping online to your heart’s content–and get a lot of perks and discounts, too!

Rainy days making it impossible to take a trip to the mall? Why not just shop online at your favorite e-Commerce sites using your PayMaya card and get up to P1,000 cashback. Each transaction qualifies you to earn up to a maximum of P1,000 cashback, so shop away!

The pitter-patter of rain on the roof creates a perfect environment for binge-watching–so pop the popcorn, wrap yourself in a blanket, and make sure you have enough prepaid load and mobile Internet package so you can stream on your favorite video sites.

And when you buy prepaid load worth at least P200 from the PayMaya shop, you can even get a chance to get 100% cashback of up to P200, so you can get it practically free!

If school is suspended and you can’t go out to play, take your games indoors and play your favorite mobile games with your buddies instead because when you buy at least P100 worth of gaming PINs for your favorite mobile games with PayMaya, you can get up to 100% cashback for your purchase as well!

“It's not that hard to enjoy all the things you love to do–whether it’s shopping, watching TV series and movies, or playing your favorite games–when you have PayMaya this rainy season. And with all the perks, discounts, and cashback you can get when you pay for purchases with your PayMaya account, you’ll definitely be saying goodbye to your credit card or even cash,” said Raymund Villanueva, Director and Head of Growth and Marketing at PayMaya. 

Not yet a PayMaya account holder? Signing up for one is easy. Simply download the PayMaya app on the Play Store and the App Store and sign up using your mobile number.

Get started on transacting by instantly adding money to your account through more than 30 bank partners via Instapay, or through the more than 40,000 PayMaya Add Money channels nationwide that include Smart Padala by PayMaya centers, Smart stores, Bayad Center, SM Business Center, Robinsons Business Center, Gaisano Capital Business Center, 7-Eleven, ExpressPay, Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhuillier, RD Pawnshop, Shopwise, Wellcome, UnionBank ATMs, BDO, Metrobank, RCBC, iBayad, ECPay, VMobile and Touchpay, eTAP & Pay&Go Kiosks, among many others.

PayMaya, the digital financial services arm of Voyager Innovations, is the only FinTech company in the Philippines offering integrated consumer and merchant payment solutions with the widest on-ground branch network. It is the first to give millions of Filipinos an e-wallet that allows them to pay cashless transactions at any time of the day, anywhere in the world, and from any device. To know more how you can maximize your PayMaya account, visit www.paymaya.com/deals or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Jul 6, 2019

McDonald’s Self-Ordering Kiosk Now in Northern Mindanao

McDonald’s have started to roll out self-ordering kiosks all over the Philippines and now it has finally arrived in Northern Mindanao. The first ever self-ordering kiosk is available at  McDonald's NxtGen Store in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental. 
The new self-ordering kiosk aims to provide a world class dining experience for its customers. It is provided for faster and smoother transactions as diners will just have to tap their orders at the screen. A maximum of 90 seconds experience time is set to ensure that their service is really fast. 
If you are not yet familiar on how to use the kiosk, a Guest Experience Leader (GEL) is their to assist you. 
Payments are made via cash or customers can pay by tapping or inserting their VISA or Mastercard at terminal on the machine. After payment, customers can proceed to the Claim Counter to pick-up the food they ordered. 
Kagay-anons are now excited to have this Experience of the Future in the city of Cagayan de Oro. 

Congratulations Mcdonald’s El Salvador for bringing this remarkable innovation to Northern Mindanao! 

May 28, 2019

Cyberzone's Cyberlegends Taking E-Sports by Storm


Cyberzone the leader in tech and innovation in the country is now taking the E-sports by storm with its latest tournament, CYBERLEGENDS. 

With the fast growth of the gaming community, we aim to take it a notch higher as we offer Filipino e-gamers and fans an extraordinary experience through live tournaments and exclusive access to the latest in tech in select SM malls,” said SM Supermalls Senior Vice President for Marketing Jonjon San Agustin. 


Cyberzone’s Cyberlegends is the first of the three big gaming tournaments for this year and it’s powered by Smart/PLDT & Samsung. Mobile Legends enthusiasts, amateurs and pro gamers can win P300,000.00 of total cash prizes at stake and freebies from Cyberzone brand partners. 

The first Cyberlegends Tournament happened last May 25, 2019 at SM CDO Downtown Premier. Participants of the said tournament are not just from Cagayan de Oro but they came from different towns and cities of Mindanao. 
The next tournaments will be on June 29 at SM Seaside Cebu, Juy 14 at SM City Pampanga and August 24 at SM North Edsa.

No matter what your tech interest is, whether it be gaming, virtual reality, tech upgrades, cosplay, photography, music, or other hobbies – there will be something for you at Cyberzone. For more information, visit www.smsupermalls.com.

Mar 20, 2019

Gardenia Philippines Inaugurates its Newest State-of-the-Art Mindanao Plant

The long wait is over for the people of Mindanao particularly Kagay-anons as Bread market leader Gardenia Bakeries officially opens its new most advanced, fully-automated bread manufacturing facility in Mindanao to serve the increasing demand for Gardenia products in the south.

 The new plant will have a capacity of producing 130,000 loaves and buns a day which will be distributed with an increased fleet of trucks all over the region. It is also expected to generate hundreds of employment and contribute to the economic growth in the region. 

Gardenia president Jun Umali said the new plant and expanded operations in Mindanao will now give consumers fresher bakery products and continual stock availability and accessibility. “We are now bringing Gardenia breads closer to our consumers with the opening of our newest plant. With our current distribution capabilities, 

Gardenia is available in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Surigao and Zamboanga del Norte, Butuan and Kidapawan but we will intensify our market penetration and saturation to widen our network, and eventually, reach every corner of Mindanao,” Umali asserted. 

Fully automated bread plant The 2.5-hectare world class Gardenia plant, located in PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate, Misamis Oriental, adjacent to Cagayan de Oro City, is now the most advanced bread manufacturing plant in Mindanao. “This completely new breadline features robotics and the latest innovations in modern baking. All major equipment are sourced from the best and reliable bakery equipment suppliers in Germany, the Netherlands, United States, Malaysia and Japan,” Umali shared. He added that the integration of these machineries and equipment into one unit is the company’s expertise learned from Gardenia’s operations in Asia-Pacific, thus enabling them to develop a proprietary manufacturing process unique to Gardenia Philippines. Umali also shared that the plant is designed to allow consumers to witness and experience the modern baking process through a catwalk plant tour especially for consumers from Mindanao. Quality bread offerings “To ensure the high quality, freshness and great taste of Gardenia products, we use flour made from US wheat, milled to Gardenia’s high-quality specifications, milk from Australia or USA, and other imported premium ingredients,” Umali assures. 

Wide variety of Gardenia products will be produced in the Mindanao bread facility, including white breads, health bread selections, flavored loaf offerings and buns or pandesal. Gardenia’s affordable loaf brand, Neubake, is also offered.

Strategic facility location Umali explained that choosing a site adjacent to Cagayan de Oro as the location of the P1-billion investment is a strategic move. “Our new plant is purposefully located not only for Mindanao commercial operations. This will also serve as support to our Cebu plant or Visayas market. We can also dispatch breads easily to other areas when the need arrives, especially in the event of major calamities or natural disasters in those areas,” he explained. “Moreover, the plant’s proximity to the ports of Cagayan de Oro, the gateway to Mindanao, ensures the availability and accessibility of ingredients,” Umali added. Continued growth and leadership Umali emphasized that the construction of the Mindanao plant is a continuation of the company’s goal to reach more of its consumers.

“With Gardenia in Mindanao, world-class quality bread products that will satisfy your appetites as well as feed your hearts will be at your fingertips. Our products will come to you fresh, delicious and healthy as we take Gardenia and breadmaking to the next level,” Umali concludes.

Here's a video from Gardenia and VFactor.

Mar 12, 2019

Big Bite Northern Mindanao Food Festival 2019


Half a decade ago, the first Big Bite Food Festival in Northern Mindanao uncovered an exciting food culture in the region. Founded by Centrio Ayala Mall, it has become mall management’s great pride and joy to discover new and innovative food entrepreneurs and enthusiasts comprising an incredibly dynamic local food industry.

The first Big Bite Food Festival was held in Marquee mall in Pampanga, a regional food haven in the North. Further down south in 2014, Mindanao followed suit with Cagayan de Oro’s then brand new Centrio Ayala mall offering itself as venue. Both festivals form part of Ayala mall’s institutionalized support for local food business and concepts.

Big Bite features the obvious massive-sized food items as festival highlight. Past years have revealed the giant halo-halo, the region’s largest maja blanca, enormous ham sliders, a colossal pineapple crumble and an oversized bowl of salad among a host of other interesting savory flavors and dessert delights in gigantic portions. In addition to such titanic highlights, Centrio gives an award to the year’s best food discovery, as judged by the country’s food industry leaders and celebrities. 


This year, gracing the festivities is the Philippines’ Idol sa Kusina, Chef Boy Logro. The Chef Master of GMA network is joined by young television host and former VJ, Joyce Pring to oversee stimulating culinary competitions and other cooking events throughout the 4-day fiesta. Celebrity Chef JP Anglo, host of CNN’s Hungry with Chef JP will be the festival’s Special Guest; completing the set are some of the country’s top food bloggers including The Pickiest Eater in the World, Ritchie Zamora. 

Big Bite regulars have come to expect fresh food concepts interspersed with all-time favorites from homegrown restaurants in the local food scene. What’s more, they are treated to excellent music featuring the best of local artists, and gastronomic sets in visually exhilarating scenes and instagrammable nooks and crannies which best showcase the epicurean pleasures the festival has to offer.

The Big Bite Northern Mindanao Food Festival runs from Thursday till Sunday, March 14-17, 2019.

See you there!