FOOD AND BEVERAGE kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings, Inc. has opened its first franchised store in Dubai under the House of Desserts brand.
In a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday, the company said its first overseas kiosk is located inside BurJuman, a prime shopping mall in Dubai, and offers several products such as fruit shakes, pearl shakes, milk tea, fresh fruit desserts, halo-halo, and fresh lemonades.
“We are excited to bring Fruitas to Dubai. The Fruitas brand, with its suite of fresh and healthy products, is universal and exportable to a lot more territories outside the Philippines,” Fruitas President Lester C. Yu said.
Fruitas also announced that back home, it has 60 new kiosks and community stores in the pipeline as part of its domestic expansion plans moving forward.
“Fruitas continues to reach more cities in Mindanao, having recently opened its first kiosk in Koronadal and adding more kiosks in Butuan and Zamboanga City,” the disclosure said.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the company’s community stores under the Babot’s Farm and Soy & Bean brands is targeted to reach at least 30 stores by the end of the year and around 100 stores in 2021.
Fruitas trimmed its net loss to P19 million in the third quarter of the year due to better consolidated revenues and lower operating expenses.
Compared to the previous quarter, the company said its consolidated revenues rose 90% to P167 million, while its operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization fell 56% to P102 million.
From January to September, Fruitas posted a net loss of P32.2 million against a net income of P53 million in the same period in 2019.
Shares of Fruitas in the stock exchange fell 1.30% or two centavos to end at P1.52 per piece on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave