Fruitas to venture into cloud kitchen for wider product choices

FRUITAS Holdings, Inc. will venture into “cloud kitchen” that will carry the Nube Kuxina brand to provide customers with a wider array of Fruitas and third-party curated products, the firm said on Thursday.

“We have been strategically acquiring food brands over the past two and a half years. It makes sense to put all of our food brands together in strategic locations to provide access to as many customers as possible within a reasonable distance,” Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu said in a press release.

“We will leverage on our internal logistics capabilities and partner with third-party service providers to deliver the best experience possible to our customers,” he added about the venture into cloud kitchen where food is prepared only for delivery or takeout.

The company also said that it will be expanding the presence of its online store, Babot’s Mart, to boost its e-commerce business.

“Babot’s Mart is now available on e-commerce giants, Shopee and Lazada,” the company said.

The company is also pushing its own e-commerce website: www.babotsmart.com.

To date, the company’s third-party partners include Alaska milk products, UCC Philippines for its 3-in-1 coffee, Villa Socorro Farms, Chef Tony Popcorn, Nacho King, Bahay Pastulan (Good Shepherd), Zesto Philippines, social-impact group Hope in a Bottle, Coconut King, AB Foods, Mondelez Philippines and Century Pacific Food.

The company also recently added Fuwa Fuwa, a Japanese brand owned by Nippon Premium Bakery, that will offer its sweet buns to its Balai Pandesal stores.

The sweet buns will be available starting Sept. 1 and will have five different flavors: matcha, custard, sweet cream cheese, choco, and red bean with vanilla cream.

Fruitas has partnered with other third-parties to complement its own food and beverage offerings.

“Our traditional beverage offerings will be a perfect complement to these food brands,” Mr. Yu said.

The company said that it is still eyeing to expand the list “to provide a more complete and convenient buying experience to its customers.”

As of August, Fruitas has 720 stores nationwide with 106 community stores of which are under the Babot’s Mart, Soy & Bean, and Balai Pandesal brands.

On the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in Fruitas climbed by 2.59% or P0.03 to P1.19 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile