Rituals on the move

Just when you think Pizza Boys CEO Mario Sabga-Aboud has it all figured out, he goes and changes the rules. That’s exactly what’s he’s done to Rituals, the coffee shop operating at various malls across the country. “There are eighteen of these stores (16 in Trinidad and two in Tobago)  and there are going to be twelve more before the end of the year,” Sabga-Aboud said in an interview. On all counts, these little shops have taken the market on a high. The flagship Rituals is at UWI, St Augustine. Another is being built in Chaguanas.

Now, he’s about to put Rituals on wheels, literally. “I wanted to create something that was mobile.” he said, noting that he wanted to expose more people to the product. The mobile Rituals are going to be hard not to miss. They are in bright colours and will have the Rituals logo plastered all over it. They can be rented out for special occasions, he said. Each mobile unit costs about $800,000 to outfit, he said, adding that they were going to carry state-of-the-art equipment and was being powered by its own generator and had its own waste collection system and would be air-conditioned. 

“We thought this out very carefully before we built them,” he said. “It’s my own design, my own creation,” he said. There will be windows on both sides, so people can drive right up to the counter. He noted though that this mobile Rituals was strictly for coffee, and nothing else. He said he found the cold coffees a hit. “We had a niche to fill and we went about to fill it,” he said.   But he’s also expanding the food side of the business and will soon be opening up a food mall at Tropical Plaza in Point-a-Pierre which will cover about 10, 000 sq ft. It’s going to have the largest indoor park in the country, he said

The food mall at Glencoe covers about 7,500 sq ft. Another food mall will be opened in Point Fortin in a few months. Pizza boys cEO Jearlean John  said that with the proliferation of the fast food industry and pizza business becoming so competitive, “We had to find a niche.” That niche was the food mall. “Density and competition is so fierce that we needed to find a way to stand out,” she said of the food malls  being rolled out.

John said that food malls provide the opportunity for multi -branding under one unit.“It gives customers options under one roof,” she said and felt that the company had enough brands to make it work. “To give people choice and keep an edge in the market,” is how she put it. Rituals now has a cult following, she said, noting that both she and Sabga-Aboud had to build on the momentum. The company, responding to market demand, will soon have Rituals gift certificates. “In just about 12 months it is phenomenal how people have responded,” she said.