On Thursday, Yu’s listed bakery arm Balai Ni Fruitas announced the acquisition of the 40-year-old Sugarhouse, which is set to be concluded by May 1 this year.
This comes two years after Yu’s Fruitas Holdings bought the 70-year-old Ling Nam restaurant, expanding its footprint by over 10 times to 34 outlets as of February 2024.
Sugarhouse, established in the early 1980s, will also grow its footprint.
More than this, Yu told InsiderPH the group sees the venture as its entry into the upscale cafe and cake business given the success of names like Mary Grace and Wildflour.
“If we can come up with better food, then we can roll out more stores like Mary Grace and Conti’s perhaps,” Yu said in a text message.
Sugarhouse has branches in Power Plant Mall, Makati City and Santolan Plaza, San Juan.
“Since customer preference is shifting to e-commerce, we will leverage the Balai Pandesal store network and use them as digital stores for Sugarhouse,” he added.
Expect more Sugarhouse branches to open in provincial areas, Yu said.
Another area of synergy is using Sugarhouse know how so that Balai Pandesal can offer affordable cakes.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
