The Golden Grab Awards 2024 recognized trailblazing brands that have positively redefined the lifestyles of Filipinos through a sensorial evening of delicious food and scintillating performances that reflected the platform’s commitment to delivering exceptional experiences.
Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading superapp recently held its highly-anticipated Golden Grab Awards at the The Fifth events place in Rockwell. The annual event recognizes the growth achieved and innovations created by the platform’s trailblazing merchants across a variety of categories—spotlighting those who have leveraged the company’s technology to drive business excellence and deliver meaningful customer experiences that showcase the power of collaboration.
Grab, and by extension its passionate, innovative, and hardworking merchants, has become an integral and inextricable part of Filipino daily life. Well past the harrowing pandemic era, there is still a high demand for its various food delivery, shopping, courier, and ride hailing services. As such, the platform continues to grow and push boundaries alongside its partner merchants to deliver exceptional services that remain relevant and crucial in the dynamic lifestyles of every Filipino. Whether it’s shopping or dining from the comfort of your home, the superapp has remained a steadfast companion in daily life.
So it is only fitting that such a prestigious event celebrates Grab’s partnerships in an equally prestigious manner; which is exactly what happened on the glittering evening filled with good food, performances, and company. The Fifth at Rockwell transformed into a dazzling, sophisticated space bedecked with black and gold decor. Likewise, guests came dressed to the nines in sparkling gold and sleek black, showcasing their outfits at the eye-catching photowalls before making their way to the main event.
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An Enticing Dinner
Awardees and guests enjoyed a sumptuous dinner with innovative twists that exemplified Grab’s attention to detail and dedication to serving quality food.
The evening’s spread included a serving of fried bread and kesong puti topped with Batangas honey and edible flowers. This was followed by a hearty serving of squash soup, and a salad of mesclun, torched guava, candied walnuts, and feta.
Afterwards, guests indulged in an entree of grana padano pasta, prosciutto, mushrooms, asparagus, and truffle cream before enjoying a refreshing palate cleanser in the form of a dalandan basil sorbet.
The main course was a symphony of flavors featuring a slow-cooked Angus short plate with cranberry jus, Boursin potato puree, and balsamic onion confit.
Ending the meal on a sweet note was a dessert of quintessentially Filipino flavors with coconut ice cream, latik, ginger tuile, and edible flowers.
A Partnership of Mutual Success
Ronald Roda, country head of Grab Philippines, opened the program with a rousing speech that reflected on the company’s incredible growth and emphasized its rewarding relationship with its invaluable partners.
“We don’t really talk about success; we talk about success shared by all. So when you grow, we grow. When every small merchant wins, we win,” he shared. “And hopefully that’s what makes us different. We’re not just a platform. We’re partners in our success. And so our promise to you is simple: we will always remain relentless in finding ways to serve you better, whether it’s through operational excellence, cutting edge innovation, and better relationships, we will keep our focus on you.”
Then came the exciting awarding ceremony, where winners were announced as Grab executives and key members of publications from One Mega Group, Inc.—including co-presenter The Business Manual—handed out their shining trophies.
Go For Gold: Trailblazing Winners of the Golden Grab Awards 2024
The Merchant of the Year awards went to those who received the most accolades across various categories, with the three winners being some of the country’s most recognizable names: Chowking (gold), Jollibee (silver), and Lemon Square Bakery Treats (bronze).
Another one of the categories in this year’s awards was Platform Innovation, which recognized the stellar products and offers of various merchants. Pizza Hut, Shakey’s Pizza, and Angel’s Pizza won gold, silver, and bronze respectively for Best Product Launch; meanwhile, KFC, Kenny Rogers, and Burger Beast took home the gold, silver, and bronze awards for Best Limited Time Offer.
The Marketing Excellence category spotlighted merchants who went above and beyond in delivering memorable and creative campaigns. First were the winners of the Marketing Manager Ace across Metro Manila, greater Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao: Egg Bomb; Oh Mango; Ate Rica’s Bacsilog; Milkshop, 6D Cafe; Ikigai Japan’s Premium Fresh Milktea; MAMA’S BOY; Putahé; Bumble Tea, Takoyaki, and Wings; Pizza City; Sushi Bake by AVM; The Clinic Coffee; Sisig Factory; Tiger Bubble Tea; and Hungry CDO Breakfast & Brunch.
Winners for Notable Campaigns included Rhian Ramos’ Healthy Appetite (which was named Influence Maverick for its “Sexy Summer” campaign); Chowking (whose Chinese New Year campaign was named Season’s Standout); and Jollibee (with its 45th Anniversary Surprising Joys winning Best Creative Campaign). Ads Trendsetter winners included Chowking, CloudEats, and Jollibee, while Demand Masters included Big Mama’s Pizza, HappiLee Korean Kitchen, and Master Gaw 24/7.
Beyond food and beverage merchants, Grab also recognized the impressive performance of supermarket and lifestyle brands on its Grab Mart platform, with its Best Beauty Store awards going to Human Nature, Gladking, and Happy Skin.
Captivating Performances And Exciting Prizes
There was never a dull moment at the awards, as the program included exhilarating and hypnotic contemporary dance performances from the group Ellipsis.
During the intermission, cast members Kiara Takahashi, CJ Navato, and Sheena Bellarmino from the Philippine Educational Theatre Association’s hit 2024 jukebox musical One More Chance gave powerful live performances.Based on the beloved 2007 film of the same name (which starred John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo), One More Chance tells the story of the trials and tribulations of one longtime couple—this time adapted for theater and told through the poignant songs of popular OPM band Ben&Ben.
Takahashi, Navato, and Bellarmino played the characters Basha, Popoy, and Tricia as they sang the songs “Maybe The Night,” “Doors,” and “Sa Susunod na Habang Buhay” in smooth, soaring vocals that got audiences applauding and cheering.
The program ended with a ceremonial toast led by Grab Philippines executives, namely Country Head Ronald Roda, Director of Commercial and Business Development GJ Roño, Country Marketing Head J-Anne Aruta, and Director for Deliveries and Strategy Greg Camacho.
Altogether, it was truly an evening that not only recognized and rewarded excellence, but also reminded everyone of what can be accomplished when people work together towards one goal that transcends profit or quantifiable rewards: to positively change the lives and futures of Filipinos, merchants, delivery riders, and customers alike.
As Roño so aptly puts it in his closing speech: “Excellence is not just about doing things well, it’s about making others better because of it; and that’s exactly what tonight is all about.”
Photos by Ed Simon of KLIQ, Inc.
