Food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings Inc. on Monday said its community stores will soon sell pan de sal and other bakery items as sales of these products rose during the lockdown.
In its disclosure, the company said it will open several standalone Babot’s Panaderya, with initial rollout plans of 4 branches in Metro Manila and one in a provincial area.
Fruitas said it is leveraging off the baking expertise and capacity of Negril Trading Inc., which houses its De Original Jamaican Pattie brand. As a result, Fruitas is initially entering the bakery business with minimal capital expenditure. Moreover, it is building on its track record of providing fresh and alternatives for fruit juices, soy-based products, ice cream and milk, it said.
“Pan de sal is a staple in Filipinos’ daily diet. Our entry into the bakery business is a natural step to achieve our vision of having every Filipino household consume at least one Fruitas product every day. At the same time, freshly baked bread is a perfect addition to our community stores,” Lester Yu, the company’s president and CEO, said.
As the company enters the bakery business, Yu said it will have the advantage of being a company that offers flexible and enhanced consumer distribution. The Fruitas community stores currently offer curbside ordering and pickup as well as home and office delivery through its CocoDelivery subsidiary.
Fruitas bread products will be available to consumers through its community stores, CocoDelivery, and soon through Babot’s Panaderya. Fruitas is also exploring the sale of its own bread products in some of its kiosks and to selected institutional customers.
The total bread market in the Philippines is estimated to be as much as P200 billion per year. Bread sales increased by around 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020, during the height of the lockdown.
In the past few months, Fruitas has expanded its product suite and also tapped partners to distribute some of its products. It decided to enter the bakery business itself to serve the demand of its customers for freshly baked bread.