Food cart operator Fruitas Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it acquired the cloud kitchen equipment owned by food service delivery firm Foodpanda.
Fruitas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange wholly-owned unit Fly Kitchen Inc. made the acquisition as part of its strategy to accelerate and expand the capabilities of its own cloud kitchen business.
A cloud kitchen is a delivery-only restaurant that has no physical space for dine-in. It relies entirely on online orders placed through online food aggregators.
Fruitas said with the Foodpanda’s advanced kitchen technology, Fly Kitchen would now able to expand its menu with new methods, processes and flavors.
It said the use of cutting-edge equipment allows the company to streamline every aspect of its operations, from food preparation to presentation, resulting in even higher service and product quality.
The acquisition will also open the door for the company to collaborate with and prepare third-party brands which would fit well with its present cloud kitchen operations and develop new recipes.
“We are pleased to announce this tactical purchase of top-quality kitchen equipment from Foodpanda. This decision reflects our dedication to providing outstanding gastronomic experiences to our patrons,” said Fruitas president and chief executive Lester Yu.
Foodpanda, a well-known leader in food delivery services in more than 40 countries across five continents, was reportedly scaling down its operations in Southeast Asia, including Philippines as part of its plan to “streamline operations”.
Fruitas ventured into cloud kitchen in 2022 to provide customers with a wider array of Fruitas and third-party curated products,
It acquired Fly Kitchen which operates four strategic kitchen locations Makati City, Pasig City, Mandaluyong City and Quezon City in June.
It has a combined cooking area of 200 square meters and caters to more than 10 brands.