Fruitas Holdings Inc. is proving to be a formidable player in the food and beverage industry, with its impressive performance last year and its commitment to sustaining this momentum.
Under the leadership of food kiosk king Lester Yu, Fruitas generated P221 million shareholder value in 2022, marking a significant turnaround from the losses incurred in the previous years.
Fruitas’ success can be attributed to its strategic expansion and improved operations of its food brands. The company saw a 63 percent surge in revenues to P1.8 billion, driven by strong same-store sales growth, despite having fewer stores compared to 2019.
The better store economics and controlled management of operating expenses also boosted Fruitas’ EBITDA to P287 million, a 119 percent increase from the previous year.
Yu attributed Fruitas’ exceptional performance to the company’s ability to navigate the challenging environment, improve margins, and generate returns for its shareholders.
He also expressed his confidence in the company’s future growth prospects, citing the group’s recent acquisitions — Balai Pandesal and Ling Nam — as areas for strategic investment.
“We expect all Fruitas brands to perform better this year and we will strongly invest in our recent acquisitions, Balai Pandesal and Ling Nam, to achieve our growth targets,” he added.
Fruitas’ portfolio now includes over 25 brands such as Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, Black Pearl, Friends Fries, The Mango Farm, 7,107 Halo Halo Islands, Tea Rex, Kuxina, SHOU La Mien Hand-Pulled Noodles, Sabroso Lechon and Soy & Bean.
Yu recently launched Fruitas dairy-based ice cream and the Soy & Bean soy product line. It is also set to open several Babot’s Farm,Soy & Bean and Balai Pandesal community stores.
