Fruitas sets up ‘cloud kitchen’ to expand reach

FRUITAS Lester Yu

Food kiosk king Lester Yu’s Fruitas Holdings Inc. is venturing into cloud kitchen, a trend in the food and beverage sector that gained traction during the pandemic, to expand the reach of its growing menu.

The listed company, in a disclosure on Thursday, announced the launch of its cloud kitchen called Nube Kuxina. A cloud kitchen provides delivery or takeout meals and has no dine-in customers.

“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 reasonable distance,” Yu said.

These brands include Balai Pandesal, Sabroso Lechon and De Original Jamaiacan Pattie, among others, which the Fruitas chief said complemented their beverage offerings.

“We will leverage on our internal logistics capabilities and partner with third-party service providers to deliver the best experience possible to our customers,” Yu said.

Fruitas is also expanding the digital presence of its online store brand Babot’s Mart by teaming up with online shopping sites Shopee and Lazada.

The firm booked a P29-million net income in the first half, a turnaround from the P9-million loss in the same period last year. Revenue for the period rose by 50 percent to P787 million.

The company saw better earnings due to increasing business activities and heavier traffic in malls where its stalls are usually located.

Fruitas currently has 720 stores nationwide.