Moran gives back to football

In the business world, Danny Moran is known as the founder of the Red Ribbon chain that he sold to Jollibee for P1.8 Billion in 2005 after building a network of 146 stores, including 20 in the US, over 26 years. In the sporting world, Moran is known as the anchor of the national football team in the ‘70s and now a serious backer of the “beautiful game” through his close association with Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Nonong Araneta.

Moran, 60, hosted the launch of Dr. Bernie Villegas’ book “Philippine Football: Its Past, Its Future” at Amici on the third floor of the SM Megamall Atrium last Thursday. He heads the Henry V. Moran Foundation, named after his father, and channels his passion for the sport through the NGO to support kids, particularly streetkids, in learning, playing and enjoying the game. Beyond the Foundation, Moran is involved in grassroots development and the promotion of futsal with the PFF.

After graduating from La Salle, Moran worked four years with IBM then turned entrepreneur in transforming his wife Tessie’s hobby of baking and making pastries into a huge commercial success. Red Ribbon became such a popular brand that it came to Jollibee’s attention. “I think Jollibee was more interested in our US network than anything else,” said Moran. “I worked with the Red Ribbon-Jollibee group for a year. I made recommendations on the locations and menus of the Jollibee stores in the US. Then, I decided to do something else. I was 50 at the time and retiring wasn’t on my mind.”

Moran thought of starting a gelato place and a friend from his IBM days, Iboy Pinga, told him about Amici Di Don Bosco, a Makati restaurant that started as a school canteen with an Italian menu inspired by Salesian priest Fr. Gianluigi Colombo. When Moran visited, the place was packed. He was impressed with the pasta and pizza offerings but zeroed in on the gelato line. He asked the attending priest about possibly taking over the ice cream business and was referred to the Salesian Council of Priests at the Tuloy Sa Don Bosco office in Alabang.

Moran was invited to attend the Council meeting one day. “As I walked in, I didn’t know how to make a business pitch to priests then I realized I had played football with some of the priests, like Fr. Rocky Evangelista, back in the day,” he said. “For an hour, all we talked about was football, remembering our games and exchanging notes on what happened to some of the players who are common friends. Finally, they asked why I came. I mentioned I was interested in their gelato line. They told me running a restaurant isn’t their business and I could take it over, not just the ice cream line but the whole thing. All they asked was to retain the staff that would be willing to work with me. I made a donation to their US foundation and that was the start of Amici. I now pay rent to Don Bosco to operate the original Amici which we’ve kept and we continue to support Tuloy Sa Don Bosco.”

Today, Amici has nine restaurants with a separate counter for a dessert brand called Cara Mia. Additionally, Cara Mia has its own 13 stand-alone stores. Moran’s two sons are involved in the business, one as general manager and the other, who trained with a chef in Italy, in charge of the kitchen. 

While Moran remains hands-on as the man behind Amici, he always finds time to give back to football. Last year, he organized Liga Eswela which brought together 26 teams from 11 public schools in six Metro Manila districts to play futsal in a one-day festival for U10 and U12 kids at La Salle Greenhills. This year, Liga Eskwela welcomed 68 teams in the second staging of the futsal event at the UA&P campus.

Moran was also involved in the staging of the Ambassador’s Cup, a mini-version of the World Cup, for two straight years. “The Chilean Ambassador at the time Roberto Mayorga introduced futsal to kids in Caloocan and from his initiative, we invited other Ambassadors to adopt other places in forming a league that we called the Ambassador’s Cup,” he said. “That was in 2014 during the World Cup frenzy so when the games were played, the kids wore replica jerseys of the teams at the World Cup. We had 12 teams in the U10 and U12 age groups.”

Moran said futsal is the key to promoting football. “With the PFF, we’re training PE instructors in public schools to teach futsal,” he said. “Kids want to play. Give them a ball and a playing field, they’ll play. It’s easier to promote futsal because there aren’t enough clear and open fields to play football. Futsal is a street game and we can play it nearly everywhere. A lot of football players trace their roots to futsal because it’s futsal that gives you more ball contact and hones your skills.”