Posted by Diane
If I had it my way, I wouldn't recommend purchasing a chocolate fountain at this early stage of the business. However, my business partner insisted. I didn't argue out of respect to age seniority. Thou shall not disobey the elders. Hahahaha
Candice has this intensifying desire to include chocolate fountain in our candy buffet packages. Good thing, our next client requested for a chocolate fountain. In effect, I have to adjust the costing and proposal. As expected, prices of the packages will escalate. I was afraid that client might back out. The heavens connived with us because client accepted the price and we found another business partner. We now have a silent partner who willingly contributed resources. Hence, we were spared from wrecking part of our day job earnings. Thanks R!
Now that we have the client and resources for the chocolate fountain, the next challenge is where to buy the chocolate fountain? We started scouting the appliance centers of SM Department stores. We encountered two sizes (two and four layers) priced at Php 2,500 and around Php 4,500 respectively. SM is definitely not an option. Despite the experience in SM, I checked Rustan's and what should I expect? The cheapest two layer was priced around Php 4,000. Rustan's offers the premium brand, Sunnex. Upon internet research, I learned that Sunnex is one of the most expensive brands in stainless kitchenware.
We were left with Divisoria as our last option. I initially googled for articles and was led to the area of Sto. Cristo. Apparently, there are numerous stores in Divisoria offering all kinds of chocolate fountain. Despite being convinced that Divisoria is our last destination, we opted for another seller. We ended in an online shopping site, Lazada.
Instincts told me to try Lazada and was surprised with the varied selection of chocolate fountains. Best about everything, I found 20 different fountains to choose from. Everything was offered at discounted prices that range from Php 400 to 1000. Steal! Check them out
here.
We bought the medium sized version around Php 1,100. It was delivered within 3 days, consistent to Lazada's lead time.
So I thought the story is already over. When we went to Divisoria a few weeks ago, Candice discovered the same brand and style to a vendor in Divisoria. We asked for the final price and were surprised with Php 2,300 ?!? Lesson learned : not everything you see in Divisoria is cheap! Lazada's deal was a steal. We were further spared from the hassles of hopping from one shop to another.
We wanted to share the experience to anyone who has plans of purchasing a chocolate fountain. A few tips I learned after days of reading internet articles about chocolate fountains
1. Sunnex is the premium brand of chocolate fountain. If you are brand conscious, choose Sunnex and proceed to Rustan's.
2. The most expensive chocolate fountain are those that are 100% made of stainless steel. Most of the chocolate fountains available are stainless steel in the outside. The inner tube that pumps the chocolate are most of the time, made of plastic. The 100% stainless steel unfortunately comes with a hefty price tag. Sunnex I believe is the lone brand that sells 100% stainless steel in the Philippine market.
Despite the promise of 100% stainless steel fountain, we still opted for the semi-stainless. Why? We found good reviews about chocolate fountains with plastic inner tubes. They still last for a long time, with proper TLC ;) Moreover, we don 't foresee using the chocolate fountain everyday. lol So we feel that this time, the cheaper chocolate fountain will work for us.
3. Not everything in Divisoria is 100% guaranteed the best deal. I'm really thankful that I decided to search Lazada.
On my next post, I will share tips on choosing the best chocolate syrup for your chocolate fountain.
Wishing you a great week ahead!
