HOMEGROWN fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has boosted its coffee and tea business with a $28-million (about P1.6-billion) investment in US-based beverage technology firm Botrista Inc.

JFC, through wholly owned unit Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd., on Wednesday inked agreements to acquire a 10-percent stake in Botrista to support the latter's global market expansion activities.

"Botrista is a game changer for the beverage industry," JFC Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in a statement.

"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," he added.

With a strong cash flow from operations, JFC would fund the deal using its current surplus cash as it reaffirms a commitment to investing in new and existing stores, commissaries and technology.

Botrista currently owns over 100 patents worldwide for its proprietary dispense technology that offers automated solutions for serving cold specialty coffee and tea-based beverages.

"[T]his partnership will help us continue investing in our technology to scale more quickly and further improve our innovative capabilities," said Sean Hsu, Botrista founder and chief executive officer.

"We look forward to creating more opportunities both for Botrista and JFC to accelerate growth and deliver exceptional value to our customers," he added.

Earlier this year, the Jollibee Group forayed into the specialty coffee business with the opening of Singapore's Common Man Coffee Roasters' first store at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati.

JFC was said to have operated 6,887 stores worldwide as of end-January 2024, 3,332 of which were located in the Philippines. Its portfolio also consists of 18 brands, including Jollibee, CBTL, Highlands Coffee, Chowking and Mang Inasal.

The fast-food chain operator has allocated a capital expenditure budget of up to P23 billion this year and plans to open 700 to 750 owned and franchised outlets, increasing its store network by 7 to 8 percent.

On Wednesday, Jollibee's share price fell by P1.40 to close at P252.60 apiece as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index edged 0.08 percent lower.

Philippine financial markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday as the country marks Holy Week.

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