Monde pushes aside setbacks as it girds for new acquisitions, ventures

Food conglomerate Monde Nissin Corp. is keen on new acquisitions that would add value to its growth strategy after it invested in businessman Jerry Liu’s Figaro Coffee Group and US-based food startup Terramino Inc. this year.

Monde CEO Henry Soesanto told reporters during a briefing last week mergers and acquisitions (M&A) were on the table apart from businesses it would build from the ground up.

“We’re always looking at the M&A opportunity but it depends on the opportunity and whether the opportunity can give us synergy,” he said, without providing details.

Soesanto said the company, whose products include Lucky Me! instant noodles and alternative meat brand Quorn, would also carefully evaluate any risks associated with planned investments.

“Everything, whether in greenfield [startup projects] or acquisitions, there will be risk, so we weigh our risk appetite on how much risk we can take,” he explained.

Earlier this year, Monde invested P820 million to acquire a 15-percent stake in Figaro Coffee, a restaurant operator that owns Angel’s Pizza and Figaro cafes.

Soesanto hinted at a much larger partnership between the two groups that could involve making Figaro products more widely available.

Like Starbucks

He said this would be of a strategic nature similar to the tie-up between US-based Starbucks Corp. and Nestlé, one of the world’s largest fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) companies, for ready-to-drink caffeinated beverages found in supermarkets.

“Starbucks is not an FMCG company and cannot do this kind of ready-to-drink coffee. Nestlé has to be the one to do this,” Soesanto said.

“Figaro is not an FMCG company, Monde is an FMCG company. I’m not promising anything [but this is] an example [of synergy],” he added.

Monde shares were battered on Friday after the company announced a P13-billion loss last year as it booked a multibillion peso write-down at its international alternative meat business.

Monde shares plunged 11.3 percent to P9.81 each by the closing bell, reducing the blue-chip stock’s market value to P176.3 billion.

Monde’s underlying business remained strong as Asia Pacific Branded Food & Beverage revenues jumped 8.4 percent to P58.55 billion in 2022. Total revenues in 2022 were up 6.7 percent to nearly P74 billion.

Soesanto said they remained committed to growing Quorn and would keep the meat alternative business as a key business pillar.

Last month, Monde also announced a $2-million investment in Terramino, which sells plant-based meats derived from koji, a type of fungi that is used to make fermented products such as soy sauce and miso soup.

Terramino’s products include turkey, ham, bacon and even foie gras products made using koji, its website showed.

—Miguel R. Camus INQ