AS CONVERSATIONS around food continue to evolve, one Davao-grown hospitality company is quietly proving that plant-based dining can move beyond niche cafés and specialty restaurants into the mainstream.
This year, The Neighborhood Lifestyle Group, Inc. takes a significant step in that direction with the opening of FastFresh™ at SM City Davao and most recently, at SM City Zamboanga—the first expansion beyond Davao City for the group’s 100% plant-based fast food concept.
For many hospitality companies, expansion is measured by the number of stores opened. For The Neighborhood Lifestyle Group, the Zamboanga opening represents something beyond numbers: the opportunity to bring a distinctly Mindanao-grown concept to a broader audience while demonstrating that innovative food brands can be conceived, developed, and scaled from the regions.
Founded in Davao City, The Neighborhood Lifestyle Group has spent the past decade building a portfolio of hospitality concepts that reflect changing consumer lifestyles. Today, the company operates SoulKitchenCo, FastFresh™, Clean, and Made Simple across multiple locations, serving thousands of guests each month and contributing to a growing dining culture that has positioned Davao as one of the country’s most exciting regional food destinations.
Among its concepts, FastFresh™ occupies a unique position.
At a time when plant-based dining was still largely associated with specialty cafés and wellness communities, FastFresh™ explored a different approach—one that focused on accessibility, familiarity, and flavor. Rather than merely creating food exclusively for plant-based consumers, the concept was designed around the idea that vegetables could be just as craveable, satisfying, and convenient as any mainstream fast-food offering.
The result is a menu that is 100% plantbased without any use of dairy, eggs or any animal products & has amazingly cultivated a loyal following ready to embrace a more vegetable forward lifestyle over the years.
