Name branding with a twist
Imagine drinking “John Lemonn,” having a glass of “Tea-Rex,” a milk tea with a bite, quenching your thirst with “Buco Loco,” or gorging on “Belly-Belly Good,” the best part of the all-time favorite lechon.
These are just some of 24 brand products that Fruitas Holdings, Inc. carries under its umbrella. Name branding with a twist appears to be a guiding principle of the company. “We’re coming out with Chickenini (love bite),” Lester C. Yu, founder and chief executive officer of Fruitas Holdings, said in a conversation during lunch.
The logo of Fruitas’ fried chicken brand is a pouting lips. This may hit the sensibilities of the “silent generation,” born between 1928 and 1945 or even the baby boomers (1946-1964), but to this Gen Xer, name branding is a thing that attracts customers, out of curiosity at the onset, but loyalty to the brand is sustained because of the quality of the product.
According to a study by Pew Research Center in 2018, persons born belonging to Generation X have been affected by the economic upheaval that influenced their education. Reading Pew’s view on this age group, I thought for a while that model was the Philippines as it capsulized precisely the situation at that time. Though martial law was lifted in January, 1981, the domestic economy was in a tailspin that led the country going into debt moratorium. The year 1996 would have a banner year for the country, then described as an emerging tiger economy. But the domestic economy in the next year took a downward spiral, largely due to the regional financial crisis.
For 44-year-old Mr. Lester, the economic upheaval surrounding his formative years until he finished college in 1995 with a degree in Industrial Management Engineering from De La Salle was not a setback.
He had many options but opted to help out in his family’s jewelry business. Then he took a leap, becoming the youngest bank branch manager of Westmont Bank. Allow me to digress for a bit. For millennials, Westmont Bank folded up following the 60 percent acquisition by UOB Group in 1999 and ultimately 100 percent under the liberalization of the entry of foreign banks in the country. His stint taught him the ins and out of retail business.
It was then that he decided to throw in the towel. Equipped with knowledge he acquired from work experience, Mr. Lester founded his own company, Fruitas. Its first outlet, Fruitas Fresh from Babot’s farm, opened in February, 2002, at SM Manila.
Today Fruitas is the country’s leading food and beverage kiosk operator. From fruit shakes to bottled coconut juice to lemonade to Jamaican Patties to the all-time favorite lechon, not just the “belly-belly good” but the whole lechon of Sabroso with its network expanding to 949. The plan for the medium term is to set up an additional150 to 250 outlets/kioks annually until 2022. The expansion will be bankrolled by the proceeds of its initial public offering (IPO), scheduled this November.
To be listed are 533.66 million primary share with a greenshoe option of 68.34 million shares at a price of 11.99 per share. Without the greenshoe, the proceeds may amount to 11.07 billion, which will go up to 11.2 billion if it is exercised.
Fruitas Chief Financial Advisor Calvin Chua believes it’s an opportune time for an IPO, of which 59 percent of the proceeds has been earmarked for store expansion; 15 percent for acquisition to expand its array of product brands, and roughly about 1150 million is for refinancing of its maturing debt obligation.
“It’s the opportune time. The inquiries mounting… appetite is overwhelming. We have to share our good story with the public,” Mr. Calvin says.
Seventeen years after, indeed, Fruitas is a good story to tell and share.
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