Dairy Queen kicks off nationwide expansion

Opens two outlets in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — After a 12-year presence in the Luzon area, ice cream brand ‘Dairy Queen’ kicked off its nationwide expansion using Cebu as its entry point in the Southern Philippine market.

“We are bringing DQ to Cebu and I think 12 years is more than enough of the waiting,” Erryl Ramos vice-operations of DQ Philippines said.

The brand, which is under the master-franchise agreement with PPI Holdings Inc., the operator of Pizza Hut chain, among others, recently opened two branches in Cebu located at SM Seaside City Cebu and Robinsons Galleria.

Ramos said the two-outlet openings in Cebu, which were done almost simultaneously, will be followed by two more store openings in Ayala Center Cebu.

At present, PPI operates 108 Dairy Queen stores in the Philippines, including the recently opened Cebu outlets.

“We know that the market is ready for DQ so our focus now is growing in Cebu,” added PPI chief marketing officer Lorent Adrias.

Owned by American business magnate Warren Buffet, DQ is one of the few pioneers in the world’s food franchising business operating for 78 years now.

This branded sweetened frozen food is known for its blizzard product, which comes in different flavors like choco chips, chocolate almond, oreo, among others. Blizzards are “served upside-down” offering a fun way to enjoy the ice cream.

Despite the wide availability of other established ice cream labels in the market, the company is confident of its sustained growth in the Philippines, banking on Filipinos’ penchant for sweet frozen products all-year-round. (FREEMAN)