Jollibee says Singapore café brand to open first local branch in Makati

LISTED Jollibee Foods Corp. will debut Singapore’s Common Man Coffee Roasters café brand at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City this year. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Jollibee Foods said it had signed a contract with Ayala Malls to establish the brand’s first location in the Philippines. It did not provide a specific date for the launch. 

Common Man Coffee Roasters operates all-day dining restaurants in Singapore and Malaysia. It is also into coffee roasting, selling coffee products, and operating Coffee Barista Academy.

William Tan Untiong, the Jollibee group’s chief real estate and design officer, said the location is vital in establishing the brand’s foothold in the Philippines.

“The Ayala Triangle Gardens is at the heart of Makati’s Central Business District and a hub for many great concepts in the city. For this reason, it is only fitting that we set up shop in this prime location that will enable us to fully bring the signature Common Man Coffee Roasters concept to life,” he said. 

Michael Bovell, general manager of Spa Esprit Food Group, said the branch will feature a roastery that would show the brand’s roasting process. The group operates Common Man Coffee Roasters in Singapore.

“We are excited to launch Common Man Coffee Roasters in Manila at this very special location in Ayala Triangle,” Mr. Bovell said, adding that the branch will not have a run-of-the-mill design.

“We are also excited to have a roastery on site so we can showcase the roasting process to our customers, offering a dining and sensory experience,” he added.

In August, the Jollibee group announced its joint venture with Food Collective, Pte. Ltd. to own and operate the Common Man Coffee Roasters brand in the Philippines. The group owns 60% of the business.

Aside from Common Man Coffee Roasters, it also has other coffee and tea brands such as its 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, 60% of The SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee, and 51% of the Milksha bubble tea brand.

Some of the company’s other brands are Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, and Mang Inasal.

Shares of Jollibee at the local bourse climbed P3 or 1.42% to P214 apiece on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave