F&B firm Fruitas diversifies into health-care business
Leading local food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings Inc. is diversifying into the health-care segment with the acquisition of a private medical and diagnostic clinic in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
Fruitas has signed a deal to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Surehealth Multi-Specialty and Diagnostic Clinic Corp. (Surehealth).
The company is pursuing this acquisition to take advantage of the growing demand for health-care services in the Philippines, Fruitas said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
Fruitas’ planned acquisition includes medical equipment, specialized manpower and the physical clinic in Sta. Mesa.
“Surehealth is Fruitas’ health service provider throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. With Surehealth’s services, Fruitas has not had a single case of local transmission and had zero COVID-19 casualty since day one of the pandemic,” said Lester Yu, president and chief executive of Fruitas.
“Fruitas has also established its own quarantine and isolation facility to aid its workforce during these trying times and we were successful against the dreaded virus. The acquisition enables Fruitas to provide medical diagnostic services apart from the current products we offer. We are extremely excited to enter the health-care industry to further encourage a healthy lifestyle among our customers,” he added.
Strong clientele
Established in 2007, the company noted that Surehealth had created strong relationships with corporations within the airline support services, construction, and logistics industries by servicing medical pre-employment, executing annual physical examinations and performing medical laboratory tests for its clients’ workforce.
The transaction is subject to execution of definitive agreements and closing is expected within two months.
While Fruitas has entered a new business segment, it has also grown its core food and beverage retailing businesses despite the pandemic. It has reached its goal of setting up 100 community stores ahead of its year-end target. It has also expanded the footprint of its recent bakery acquisition, Balai Pandesal, from five to 33 outlets since June this year.
Further expansion
Fruitas’ goal is to further expand its store network and reach a total of 200 community stores in 2022.
The community store concept is a chain of bigger stores that function both as a marketplace for Fruitas’ products and a delivery hub as Fruitas aims to reach more consumers especially during this pandemic and beyond. Each has a bigger footprint compared to Fruitas’ usual kiosks, ranging between 10 and 30 square meters.
From a single Fruitas stall opened in 2002, the group ended 2020 with around 1,000 stores across the country and over 25 brands in its portfolio. Its brands include Fruitas Fresh from Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, Buko ni Fruitas, 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, and Sabroso Lechon. It recently launched Fruitas dairy-based ice cream and the Soy & Bean soy product line. INQ
