The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) aims to improve bilateral trade and investments between the United Kingdom (UK) and the Philippines, particularly in the food and beverage industry.
During the Food and Beverage Industry Forum organized by BCCP on Wednesday, its chairman, Chris Nelson, said British and Filipino food and beverage firms should look into opportunities in the sector for both markets.
Nelson added that the Philippine market has a lot of interest in British products through the GREAT British Campaign of the British Embassy in Manila.
Likewise, Philippine products are also rousing the interest of the British market amid the UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) active promotion of the the Philippines in the European country. UKTI Director Mike Moon noted that food and beverage has driven the bilateral trade of the United Kingdom and the Philippines in 2015 which, he said, grew by 35 percent.
The UK is the country’s 19th-largest trading partner, 16th-largest export market and 21st import source.
Moon also said British food and beverage companies have huge potential in the Philippine market with the growing middle class.
Currently, global middle class is around 1.8 billion. The population is expected to grow to 3.2 billion in 2020 and 4.2 billion in 2030, with 60 percent of this global middle class are in Asia.
For his part, Dusit Thani Manila General manager Bruno Cristol said the Philippines is a vibrant market for food companies as Filipinos love to eat. An average Filipino eats five times a day, Cristol mentioned.
He added that Filipinos are also the world’s most curious consumers and world’s most confident consumers. Restaurant owners in the country, likewise, have young and growing target market who eats out more often.
Citing the Third Quarter 2015 Nielsen Out-of-Home Dining Habit Survey, six out of 10 millenials say they eat out at least once a week.
In Southeast Asia the Philippines has the highest number of customers visiting a restaurant at 785 people, advancing Thailand with only 498 people, Singapore with 171 people, and Vietnam with 159 people.