Gardenia Bakeries: expands across the Philippines

Laguna / PH. (gb) Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines) Inc., subsidiary of Singapore-based QAF Limited, plans to invest 700 million PHP (11,651 million EUR) to expand its production capacity and distribution network across the Philippines.

Gardenia president and general manager Simplicio Umali Junior said the company was initially allotting 100 million PHP (1,664 million EUR) to expand its loaf and pan de sal lines and infrastructure distribution. It plans to revisit the expansion program by the middle of 2008. «Should prices of wheat in the global market stabilize, we would push through with our 700-million-Peso loaf bread expansion program», said Umali.

Gardenia, he said, was hoping to get yet a bigger share of the domestic bread market with its expansion plans. The company has a market share of over 60 percent of the total branded loaf bread segment and more than 40 percent of the total market in Manila. Gardenia products are now shipped from its Laguna plant to Ilocos and Cagayan Valley in the north, and in the south to Boracay, Iloilo and most recently to Bacolod and nearby towns.

Umali said the company had posted record sales of over one billion PHP in the past two years hoped to sustain growth this year. He declined to disclose sales target this year. According to «The Manila Bulletin» Gardenia produces 400.000 loaves and buns per day from its four production lines with an annual capacity of 100 million. Gardenia Bread is now on its tenth year of operations.

bakenet:eu