Cebu has always been a place where food businesses have room to grow, from long-running homegrown restaurants to newer concepts that are slowly making their way into the spotlight. This was once again highlighted as merchants and food entrepreneurs from across the Visayas gathered in Cebu City for foodpanda’s CRAVE Partner Summit & Awards 2026.

The event brought together restaurant and food business owners from different parts of Central, Eastern, and Western Visayas to celebrate their achievements, share insights, and look at how technology can help local food businesses reach even more customers.

Celebrating the Businesses Behind the Food

What I found interesting about CRAVE 2026 was that the spotlight wasn’t only on the platform itself, but on the local food businesses and entrepreneurs behind it.

For many restaurants, reaching customers today goes beyond having a physical location. Digital platforms have become another way for businesses to introduce their food, reach new audiences, and keep up with changing dining habits.

During the summit, foodpanda highlighted how its merchant partners can make use of tools such as customer analytics, marketing solutions, and improved delivery fulfillment to better understand demand and grow their businesses.

Patricia Jacinto, Director for Growth and Marketing at foodpanda Philippines, shared that the goal is to help merchant partners grow by combining their culinary expertise with technology and insights from the platform.

And looking at the businesses recognized during the event, it’s clear that the Visayas has no shortage of brands worth celebrating.

Recognizing the Visayas’ Top-Growing Food Brands

One of the highlights of CRAVE 2026 was the awards segment, which recognized foodpanda partner vendors across the Visayas in different areas of business performance.

The Pau-Pau’s Top of Table Award, which recognized market leadership and sales performance, went to Alberto’s Pizza, Sal’s Bar and Restaurant, Dimsum Break, Ribshack, and PorkHub.

Meanwhile, businesses that showed strong year-on-year growth during the first half of 2026 were recognized through the Pau-Pau’s Momentum Master Award. The recipients were Sisigan Sa Doctors, Ma. Lina Catering Services, The Original AA BBQ, Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries, and Tiktilaok.

The Pau-Pau’s Brand Spotlight Award recognized brands that stood out for their marketing initiatives and partnership with foodpanda. This year’s recipients included Felisa’s Cafe & Restaurant, Mom Rose, Cebu’s Tasty Lechon, Cribs, Ram’s Pizza, Pasta and Milktea, and Metro Retail Supermarket.

For operational performance and service reliability, the Operational Excellence Award was given to Hybrid Coffee, Somac Korean Restaurant, Got Tea? Crafted Milk Tea, Popcha Milktea Station, Gabby’s Bistro, and Rose Pharmacy.

And of course, there’s something special about being recognized by the people who actually order and enjoy the food.

The People’s Palate Award celebrated businesses with strong customer ratings and repeat orders, with Hukad Everyday Filipino, SAJ HUT, Mango Magic, Dapogan, and Wingers Unlimited taking home the recognition.

Homegrown Stories Worth Celebrating

Beyond the awards themselves, I liked seeing how many of these businesses have their own stories rooted in the Visayas.

Take Alberto’s Pizza, for example. Founded in Cebu in 2008, the homegrown pizza brand has grown beyond its beginnings and continues to serve customers across the VisMin region.

There’s also Hukad Everyday Filipino, which traces its roots to Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant, which began in Cebu City in 1982. Today, the brand remains a familiar name for Filipino dining in Cebu.

Meanwhile, Cebu’s Tasty Lechon shared another example of how a local food business can grow from humble beginnings. Starting in 2016, the brand has expanded to more than 20 branches across Cebu, with foodpanda helping extend its reach to more customers.

And I found Hybrid Coffee particularly interesting because it brings together coffee, home-style meals, and even a carwash in one neighborhood concept in Lapu-Lapu City. It was also recognized for its operational excellence during the event.

These stories are a reminder that behind every restaurant, café, or food business is an entrepreneur figuring out how to keep the business moving forward.

Helping Local Food Businesses Grow Beyond Their Storefronts

Another key discussion during CRAVE 2026 was the role of digitalization in helping food businesses adapt.

With customer preferences constantly changing, restaurants now have more opportunities to understand what their customers are looking for, promote their offerings, and reach diners beyond those who happen to pass by their physical stores.

For regional businesses in particular, platforms like foodpanda can also provide an additional avenue to reach customers who may not have discovered them otherwise.

The summit also looked ahead to the coming holiday season, with foodpanda highlighting enhanced AI-powered forecasting tools and automated marketing features that can help merchants manage demand, maximize daily capacity, and encourage repeat orders.

A Toast to the Visayas Food Scene

For me, what made CRAVE 2026 interesting was seeing the bigger picture behind the food we regularly order.

Cebu and the rest of the Visayas have a growing community of restaurants, cafés, food entrepreneurs, and homegrown brands, and events like this put some of those stories in one room.

From established names that have been around for decades to newer businesses finding their footing, there’s a lot happening within the regional food scene. And as these businesses continue to adapt to digital platforms and changing customer habits, it’s exciting to see how far local food brands can take their stories.

After all, good food may bring us to a restaurant, but behind every successful food business is a whole lot of work happening behind the scenes.

And at foodpanda’s CRAVE 2026 in Cebu, those businesses finally got their moment in the spotlight.