Jollibee to acquire majority stake in Taiwanese bubble tea firm Milkshop

Filipino restaurant giant Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is expanding its international footprint further, as it moves to gain a majority stake in Taiwanese bubble tea firm Milkshop International.

In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, November 4, JFC said it would purchase 51% of Milkshop for $12.8 million or around P647.8 million.

The Taiwanese company is involved in the development, operations, and franchising of specialty tea shops under the trade names Milkshop and Milksha. 

Milkshop has over 250 outlets in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Vancouver, and Singapore.

It had system-wide sales of $66.5 million in 2019 and, despite the coronavirus pandemic, generated $74.7 million in 2020.

“First introduced in Taiwan in 1987, the bubble tea has since grown into a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide. This gives JFC the opportunity to participate in this fast-growing beverage category and together with Milkshop’s founder, grow the Milksha brand globally,” JFC said.

Since June, JFC and its subsidiaries Fresh N’ Famous Foods and Mang Inasal Philippines have had exclusive rights to Milkshop.

Chowking stores will start selling Milksha products soon.

As of end-September, JFC was operating 3,202 restaurant outlets in the Philippines.

The latest deal comes just days after JFC announced it would increase its investment in Tim Ho Wan, which it fully acquired last August.

Shares of JFC jumped 2.6% on Thursday. – Marc Aguilar/Rappler.com

Marc Aguilar is a Rappler intern. He is a communication student from St. Paul University Quezon City.