Jollibee invests $28 million in beverage tech firm

MANILA, Philippines —  Filipino-owned Asian food conglomerate Jollibee Foods Corp. is investing $28 million for a 10 percent stake in beverage technology company Botrista Inc. to support the growth of its coffee and tea business.

JFC said the investment in Botrista, made through its wholly owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL),  would facilitate strategic access to innovative and sustainable platform and technology.

It is expected to create a gateway for the group to tap the $3 trillion addressable market for beverages industry globally by expanding distribution channels and providing consumers with healthier options.

JFC said it aims to leverage Botrista’s technological capabilities to create significant learnings and synergies that would further enhance the group’s competitive advantage.

“Botrista is a game changer for the beverage industry. We are excited to invest in a company that creates excellent and innovative products, enabling food service operators to deliver a world-class customer experience and providing a substantial runway for sustained profitable growth,” JFC chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said.

“We look forward to Botrista’s rapid and asset-light distribution and channel expansion that will create more value to its partners and ultimately, the end consumers,” he said.

A leader in the beverage technology space, Botrista holds more than 100 patents globally for its proprietary dispense technology, which provides automated solutions to serve cold specialty coffee and tea-based drinks with premium and all-natural ingredients.

JFC said Botrista’s efficient and easy-to-use automated system enables restaurant and food service operators to offer more drink options, resulting in incremental revenues and higher same store sales growth, with minimal capital expenditures.

As such, JWPL’s investment in Botrista is seen as a strong fit to JFC’s goal of growing its coffee and tea business.

The investment is expected to support Botrista’s market expansion activities outside the US, as well as increase production capabilities and fund ingredient supply chain development and other research and development initiatives.