‘Fruitas to attain store expansion goal’

FOOD and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings Inc. on Tuesday said the number of its community store openings is expected to reach 50 within a month and that it is on track to opening 100 stores before the end of the year.

Within the next few weeks and even with the surge in Covid-19 cases, Fruitas said it will open Soy and Bean community stores in Las Piñas and Marikina and its first franchised community store in Rizal.

The company said it is using its community store in Mcarthur Highway in Angeles, Pampanga for its delivery service in neighboring towns.

“The pandemic has required us to adapt to the demands of our customers. We will continue to expand and enhance Cocodelivery. Our community stores, which were conceptualized during these challenging times, now contribute approximately 10 percent of our revenues and we expect this to further increase moving forward,” Lester Yu, Fruitas Holdings president and CEO, said.

“We will also be offering a wider selection of products to our customers and get closer to them. As near-term risks from the pandemic remain, we will also further amplify the health benefits of our key products.”

Fruitas has recently launched its line of cold-pressed juices and open its first standalone Fruitas Creamery, which will sell its line of Fruitas dairy-based ice cream and Soy and Bean soy-based ice cream.

The company earlier said it targets to increase its income by 5 times and more than double its revenues through 2025 as the company hopes to expand its operations in the country.

The company said it has set its sights on a net income of P500 million within the 5-year period, from the current annual earnings of more than P100 million. Revenues, meanwhile, are expected to jump to about P5 billion from the P2 billion it posted in 2019.

The company said it needed to expand its network to about 2,000 locations by 2025, or double its current number of kiosks and store network.