Season’s Greetings to all our MBN blog readers!
For our last breakfast of the year the MBN gang along with our good friends Doug Gfeller and Ric Franzi of Critical Mass went to a superb pancake house, Flappy Jack’s.
The new Flappy Jack’s in Orange is a great joint for hearty breakfasts and delicious pancakes.
Our first breakfast with a client was great fun!  Conversations, jokes, and stories were told throughout the table and the camera was passed around to get every possible shot of the fun we were all having!
We look forward to our following guests that will be joining us in the year to come.

As you may know, once a month the MBN family goes out for a nice breakfast, always in a new location in the OC area.  November we stumbled across a restaurant tucked in an industrial stretch of northeast Anaheim.  Miraloma Cafe is a great place for anyone.

We here at MBN design remind you that we welcome any one of our clients to join us for breakfast. Clients are booked for December and January so stay tuned for the blogs and we’ll be happy to host a different client in the following months.

October we checked out a small place with big flavor and originality, served on a waffle!  The Bruxië is a new take on the authentic Belgian Waffle.  Perfect for breakfast, lunch, mid day snack as well as a dessert or late night treat.  It’s located in Old Town Orange and has become so popular they’ve opened a new location in Downtown Brea! Beautifully designed by our friend SueEllen Langford

The MBN team had a blast at the Bruxië. The breakfast was great as well as the service.  One of the owners,Kelly Mullarney, was especially hospitable and made our visit fun and enjoyable.  We recommend Bruxiës to all our readers! 

We would like to cordially invite any of our clients to join us for breakfast!  Every month we’ll invite a different client to join in the fun and good food, pictures will be taken and a blurb about  your company will be  featured in our blog.  So if you’re interested please contact Christie at christie@mbndesign.com for the details…

Article by Richard Franzi

IRVINE, Calif. Critical Mass for Business is proud to announce the nomination of one of their members, Hector Garcia of MBN Design, Inc. for the prestigious 2011 Orange County Business Journal Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.

“Hector has been an important part of our monthly CEO Peer Groups, helping all our members to make better decisions,” stated Critical Mass for Business Co-Owner Ric Franzi. “He embodies all the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, particularly his ability to build a team of creative minds at MBN Design.”

As Co-Owner Doug Gfeller (a Certified Master Coach for Businesses) added, “Having worked with Hector now for the last 6 years, we can certainly see why he was selected given his ability to create a brand think-tank which is always at the ready to serve his clients’ needs.”

Hector founded his firm more than 10 years ago and with 20 years of design experience he’s built a remarkable team with the perfect blend of talent and experience. “It’s an honor to be nominated for this award of excellence. My gratitude goes to Critical Mass for Business, My Coaches and Peer Group members for helping me define my business path toward greatness”.

About MBN Design, Inc.

MBN Design Specializes in Brand Development, Brand Refresh and Package Design for national and multi-national accounts as well as fortune 100 companies. We’ve partnered in developing successful branding solutions for many Household Names such as City of Hope, El Pollo Loco, El Torito, Golden Spoon and Hi-Liter to name a few.
“You may not know us, But you’ve seen us” – check us out at www.mbndesign.com

About Critical Mass for Business

Critical Mass for Business is the fastest-growing organizer and facilitator for business advisory groups in Orange County and a noted business coaching company with over 17 years of experience. They lead CEO Peer Groups and provide Executive Coaching for many of the County’s most successful firms. Learn more at www.criticalmassforbusiness.com

MBN will be partnering up with CEO Michelle Patterson from Event Complete, who has been the visionary and creator behind the multitude of successful events and national workshops. Michelle Patterson was congratulated by CEO Andrew Mason of Groupon on Event Complete’s all time Groupon record for their Capturing True Emotion workshop.

“We want to give a special Thank You to Michelle Patterson and Event Complete for putting together this radio interview. We expect fruitful outcomes with the partnership between MBN and Event Complete.” -Hector Garcia

Listen to the interview here!

Scroll down to check out exclusive photos from the interview!

We greatly enjoyed the submissions and appreciate those who took the time to join in,Thank You! Now to announce the winners…

1st Place goes to Andrew Gomez

Andrew Gomez’s awe-inspiring photo warmed our hearts as it did his iPad!

Andrew has won the Grand Prize consisting of a $500 donation to the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund plus dinner for four at El Torito Grill or any other fine Real Mex restaurant, and lastly a $50 gift certificate to Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt.

2nd Place goes to Cody Fletcher

Cody Fletcher’s creative Melon Warmer idea gave us the chills!

Cody has won a $50 gift certificate to Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt.

3rd Place goes to Michael Rutt

We didn’t have to think hard to realize this was a great idea!

Michael has also won a $50 gift certificate to Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt.

The remaining entries will receive consolation prizes which consist of $25 and $10 Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt gift certificates. Once again, Thank You to all who participated in our out-of-the-box challenge.

The most uncommon, unusual, extraordinary, out-of-the-box users of their Melon Warmer will have a chance to win a myriad of prizes.

Grand Prize:

A $500 Donation to the charity of your choice
+ Dinner for 4 at El Torito Grill or other RealMex restaurants
+ $50 Gift Card to Golden Spoon Yogurt (that’s a lot of dessert!)

Plus Hundreds of $$$ worth in prizes awarded to 12 other creative melon users!

Submit your creative images by emailing us at useyourmelon@mbndesign.com

The Thinking Cap

Use your melon before it turns to stone! ... or ends up in a basket

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Thanks for the ‘mouse pad”

When you gotta go… you gotta go.

Trick-or-treat

Dishwasher

A warm melon is a happy melon

Rada-Rada!

“My spidey senses are tingling!… ahh this helps”

MBN can "address" all of your advertising needs.

i-Pads CAN do anything! Say cheeeze!

THAWING INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Place MBN Melon Warmer on package 2) Remove lid from package 3) Enjoy.

Zzzzz .... Zzzzzzz ... Zzzzzzzzz

Lowepro Slingshot Toploader Micro Fiber Camera Bag, $80?! ... meh, this will do.

Melon Warmer? or Apple-Head Warmer?

Is that a pot head?

Brrrrrr-hrrr-hrrrr... its cold.

Car wash!!

Hmm ... I think we know what you need for X-Mas.

After years of avoiding entry into the supermarket arena – where profit margins are razor thin – El Pollo Loco is spreading its wings into retail.

The Costa Mesa-based chicken chain has created a frozen version of its Pollo Bowl, which is now being sold in roughly 100 Costco warehouses in Southern California. It is also stocked in 600 supermarkets, including Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Smart & Final.

“We see a real opportunity because there’s no real high quality Mexican brand in the frozen food sector, said Joe Stein, El Pollo Loco’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation.

The move comes as El Pollo Loco looks for new ways to make money and increase brand awareness. Earlier this month, the chain launched steak – one of several new foods El Pollo Loco plans to add to its menu this year.

Stein said El Pollo Loco has spent two years investigating how to bring the right product to market.

It had to be something portable and easy to recreate, he added.

The chain eventually came up with a frozen version of its Pollo Bowl and pitched the idea to Costco. The chain tested it in San Diego warehouses last fall and found that it sold well.

Over the holidays, the product expanded to 100 warehouses in Southern California, including Orange County. The Costco item is sold for $13.99 and includes six, 16 oz. Pollo Bowls.  The bowls sold in supermarkets are different in size and ingredients.

The grocery stores sell a 4-pack of 12-oz. bowls, that contain the exact same ingredients sold at the restaurants. Cost: $8.99-$9.99, depending on the store.

The Costco bowls offer cheese, which is not a regular topping on bowls served at restaurants. Stein said Costco insisted on adding cheese because the warehouse chain thought the bowls would sell better.

Research shows that El Pollo Loco is entering the frozen food sector at the right time. With consumers  cutting back on dining, more are turning to convenient frozen items to eat at home or at the office, according to market research firm Packaged Facts.

Local restaurant chains that have entered the frozen food market over the past few years include Newport Beach-based Ruby’s Diner, Irvine-based Yard House and Cypress-based Real Mex Restaurants. The latter is the parent company of El Torito, El Torito Grill, Acapulco and Chevys restaurants.

For years, Marie Callender’s has also offered a large line of foods in supermarkets. Over a five-year period between 2008 and 2013, frozen food sales are forecast to grow 25 percent to $64.8 billion, Packaged Facts said in a 2009 report. El Pollo Loco is taking advantage of that demand.

Stein said the bowls, so far, are exceeding expectations with more than $4 million in sales. The chain is working with other grocery chains, and it expects the bowls to be in 1,000 stores relatively soon.

As for new retail products, Stein said he’s looking at the possibility of bottling and selling the chain’s avocado salsa and creamy cilantro dressing.  The chain is also investigating the possibility of selling pre-marinated chicken for barbecuing and or selling the company’s famous citrus-marinade separately.

“If we do it right, this could generate profits in the multi-million dollar (range) in the next two years.”