Insider Spotlight
The strategy was highlighted during the company's 40th anniversary celebration, where executives said the company's next phase of growth will focus on innovation, disciplined expansion, and strengthening its ecosystem of businesses rather than pursuing rapid scale.
Why it matters
Unlike traditional poultry producers, Bounty operates across the value chain—from feeds and breeding operations to branded food products and restaurant concepts—allowing it greater control over quality, supply and pricing.
The company now operates through four business groups: Bounty Fresh Group, Agribusiness Group, Branded & Value-Added Group, and Restaurant Group, whose flagship Chooks-to-Go has grown to more than 2,200 takeout stores nationwide.
Its agribusiness arm also supplies feed, nutrition, technology and technical support to livestock raisers and poultry farmers across the country.
Bounty Fresh Group Holdings Inc. CEO Kenneth Cheng said during a media luncheon that sustainable expansion requires discipline.
"You want to grow slowly. You want to look long term … You want to grow and be stable. In the end, we want this company to be multi-generational." he explained.
He added that innovation remains a core leadership principle. "You cannot make any changes and any new innovations when you do not have courage," Cheng said.
Integrity and leadership
Beyond business performance, Cheng said integrity remains non-negotiable in Bounty's leadership philosophy. He said the company's decisions are anchored on ethical and professional standards. Sustainable growth, he said, depends as much on principled leadership as operational excellence.
"Lead with integrity. Our actions, our decisions, are based on an ethical foundation. So whatever we do, whatever decision, it has to have an ethical and professional decision," he said.
Innovation
Bounty is also embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to modernize its farming operations. The company has deployed AI-powered cameras in poultry houses that continuously monitor birds and estimate their weight, allowing it to predict the optimal harvest date without workers manually catching and weighing chickens.
The technology, which took about a year to train, has reduced labor requirements while strengthening biosecurity by limiting human entry into poultry houses, where every visit carries the risk of introducing disease.
Bounty is expanding its digital agriculture initiatives through a partnership with PLDT's data center arm, VITRO, to strengthen disaster recovery capabilities and improve real-time visibility across its farms, processing plants and distribution network.
The big picture
The company traces its roots in 1986 to a 5,000-layer farm in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, and has since grown into one of the country's largest poultry integrators, operating across breeding, feeds, processing, branded food and restaurant businesses.
Bounty is also differentiating itself through product quality and animal health standards. "We are currently the only company who are producing no antibiotics ever," he added.
The company said its "no antibiotics ever" program covers the entire production cycle—from raising birds through processing—setting it apart from producers that market poultry as having no antibiotic residue after withdrawal periods.
From poultry producer to food powerhouse
Bounty's expansion has also extended into full-service dining. Last year, the Chen family's investment vehicle acquired a controlling stake in The Bistro Group, one of the country's largest casual dining operators with more than 200 restaurants nationwide.
The acquisition broadens the group's presence across the food value chain—from agricultural production and retail to premium restaurant dining—and creates opportunities for operational and supply chain synergies.
The bottom line
Bounty said it will continue investing in agricultural innovation, partnerships with farmers and responsible expansion to help improve national food security while reinforcing its position as a trusted food producer for Filipino families. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
