MANILA, Philippines — Universal Robina Corp. (URC) saw brisk sales in its low-priced food products, including snacks and instant coffee, as consumers looked for cheap alternatives to deal with inflation hurting the power of their wallets.
Irwin Lee, president and CEO of the Gokongwei-led company, said in a virtual stockholders’ meeting on Monday that the rising prices of commodities have dampened consumer confidence.
“The inflationary environment indeed has an impact on consumer confidence as we are seeing it in markets not only in the Philippines, but also in other countries. The impact that we are observing is really a pronounced growth in value-for-money products,” he said.
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Its branded consumer food group grew revenues by 5 percent in the first quarter to P19.42 billion, accounted mostly by domestic sales.
Brands under this segment include Nissin products such as Cup Noodles, Instant Mami, and Payless; and Jack ‘N Jill snacks like Chippy, Chiz Curls and Cloud 9.
Consumer confidence
“We are seeing growth, for example, in our snacks business where we have entries in lower price formats,” he explained.
“We are seeing growth in our instant soluble business as people make their own coffee rather than drink mixes,” Lee added.
Instant coffee brands under URC’s portfolio are Blend 45, Cream All, and Great Taste.
Meanwhile, Lee said they were keen on further expanding the footprint of Munchy Food Industries Sdn. Bhd. (Munchy’s) across Southeast Asia after completing the P22.9-billion deal to take over the Malaysian biscuit brand last year.
Now called Universal Robina Munchy’s, the company was able to expand its portfolio to include other brands like Munchy’s Cream Crackers, LEXUS Cream Sandwich, Oat Krunch, Muzic Wafer, and Choc-O cookies.
URC began acquiring the Malaysian brand in 2021 through its subsidiary URC Snack Foods (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
In the first quarter, URC saw its net income improve by 21 percent to P4.4 billion because of higher operating income and foreign exchange gains. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ