Balai ni Fruitas adds Sugarhouse to shopping cart, to check out by May 1

MANILA, Philippines  — Sugarhouse will be present in Cebu City by next year as bakery chain Balai Ni Fruitas Inc. signed up to acquire the legacy confectioner, to expand its product offering.

Balai did not disclose the total acquisition investment but clarified that it would be less than 10 percent of the Fruitas Holdings Inc. subsidiary’s total assets of P561.77 million as of end-2023.

Balai president and CEO Lester Yu told the Inquirer that they aimed to launch the Cebu branch by 2025 while boosting Sugarhouse’s digital presence in Metro Manila.

READ: BIZ BUZZ: A ‘sweet deal’ for Lester Yu

Yu explained that they first wanted to develop more Sugarhouse products apart from cakes and pastries before launching additional branches in the capital.
“Since customer preference is shifting to e-commerce, we will leverage off the Balai Pandesal store network and use them as digital stores for Sugarhouse,” Yu said in a Viber message on Thursday.

READ: Balai Ni Fruitas acquires Sugarhouse

Balaimart.com is Fruitas Holdings’ group-wide e-commerce platform that offers products from their various brands, including Balai Pandesal, Soy & Bean, and House of Fruitas.

The 40-year-old Sugarhouse, known for its cakes and pies, currently has only two branches —Town Plaza in San Juan and Power Plant Mall in Makati City.

Yu added that they would also establish Sugarhouse in other major cities outside Metro Manila.