French Baker in talks with 3 foreign firms

MANILA, Philippines - With its baked products consistently selling like pancakes over the past 25 years, Filipino-owned boutique bakery chain The French Baker Inc. is now preparing its next recipe for success with the addition of more international brands into its portfolio.

In an interview, French Baker founder and chief executive officer Johnlu G. Koa said the company is currently in talks with three international companies keen on bringing their food brands into the Philippine market.

Koa declined to identify the firms yet but described them as having a strong presence in Asia.

He said deals with the three companies are likely to be reached by next year.

“What’s happening right now is that our success has attracted many foreign brands that would like us to carry their brands in the Philippines. They’ve seen our resiliency over the 25 years. So we are evaluating these brands as we go on,” Koa said.

“They probably heard about what’s happening here with a lot of international brands coming in. They have identified us as a working partner and so it’s just really a matter of getting them to approve the locations we have in mind and getting the landlords to kind of agree to their visions of how they want to have their brands in the Philippines,” he added.

Apart from its namesake brand, the only international brand that the French Baker carries at present is Cha Time.