BALAI NI FRUITAS, Inc. has put up its first Balai Pandesal store in Cebu, marking the bakery chain’s initial move to cover the Visayas and Mindanao region as part of its planned expansion across the country.
The Balai Pandesal store in Tisa, Cebu City is the latest addition to the Fruitas group’s seven community stores in Cebu: five Soy & Bean outlets, one House of Fruitas, and one Fruitas House of Desserts.
“Balai Pandesal’s nationwide expansion will be through brick and mortar and digital locations,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.
It added that the Cebu Balai Pandesal store will be the template for counter service bakery’s store expansions outside Metro Manila and surrounding areas.
At present, Balai Pandesal products are available through Balai ni Fruitas Soy & Bean, House of Fruitas, and Fruitas House of Desserts. They can also be accessed through Fruitas Holdings, Inc.’s group-wide e-commerce site, www.babotsmart.com.
The company said that it is also looking at cafés, with baked goods serving as the anchor products for partnerships and that “there will be more locations offering Balai Pandesal on GrabFood and foodpanda.”
To date, Balai Pandesal’s third-party partners are UCC Philippines, Bahay Pastulan, Zesto Philippines, Mondelez Philippines, and Century Pacific Food.
“[Balai ni Fruitas] is eyeing to further expand the list to provide a more convenient buying experience to its customers,” the company added.
By 2023, the company targets to reach P500 million in annual revenues and P1 billion by 2025.
“We see numerous pockets of opportunity within the Philippines’ more than P300-billion baked goods market. The proceeds from the initial public offering in June, our strong internal cash generation and additional lines from our bank partners, will allow us to seize the opportunities to achieve our goal,” Balai ni Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu said.
Balai ni Fruitas is a 75%-owned subsidiary of Fruitas Holdings. As of June 2022, it reported a 38-store network and three brands in its portfolio: Balai Pandesal, Buko ni Fruitas, and Fruitas House of Desserts.
As of July, its store count reached 85 spread among the three brands.
On the stock market on Thursday, shares in Balai ni Fruitas rose by 1.22% or P0.01 to P0.83 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile