MANILA – Food segment is seen to continue driving the country’s franchising industry this year, with an overall revenue growth forecast of about eight to 10 percent to around PHP800 billion, amid the challenging market uncertainties.
Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) chairperson Christopher Lim, at the sidelines of the International Franchise Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, said the revenue growth projection is “a bit more muted but still quite aggressive.”
“We do know there’s a lot of headwinds around the world. And we don’t know where inflation, or, I think, more importantly, interest rates are going,” he said.
Lim said the impact of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to Philippine franchise brands in the US market is also expected to be muted as the players have already diversified their supply base.
“If ever they get anything from the Philippines, it would be usually the proprietary sauces and mixes. But the main products, whether it’s chicken, potato, you try to source it as close or as local as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, PFA director Sherill Quintana said there are around 120,000 Filipino franchise outlets to date.
Quintana admitted that the number has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic level of about 200,000 franchise stores.
“Maybe we can do it in three years,” she said.
The franchise sector has created around 2 million direct and indirect jobs and contributed 7.2 percent to the Philippine economy to date. (PNA)
Source: PNA
