Century Pacific Food Inc., a leading food company owned by the Po family, said Monday it signed a multi-year contract worth $50 million as an original equipment manufacturer for Linaco Group, a leading regional coconut producer in Malaysia.
CNPF said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the newly signed agreement involved an increase in volume commitments and range of products that it would produce to serve Linaco’s growing requirements.
CNPF is currently expanding its coconut manufacturing capacity, with an additional investment of P300 million to address the rising demand for high-value coconut products internationally.
“Our growing presence in the global coconut market—both as an OEM export manufacturer and domestic branded player—is in line with our long-term vision of building a healthier and more diversified suite of shelf-stable food and beverage products,” CNPF executive chairman Christopher Po said.
“We will continue to leverage on our manufacturing expertise, as well as our marketing and R&D capabilities, to capitalize on emerging global trends, and invest in our robust new product pipeline,” he said.
The partnership between the two parties started in 2018, with CNPF signing on as OEM of Linaco’s leading coconut milk brands.
Linaco’s high-value coconut products are available in 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, China, Hong Kong and Australia.
“This new agreement will further strengthen our partnership with CNPF. We thank the team for their continuing understanding and support, which led to the achievement of this new milestone,” Linaco managing director Joe Ling said.
In line with its pivot towards manufacturing healthier products, CNPF entered the coconut business initially as an integrated manufacturer of high-value coconut products for OEM exports.
Its entry into the category began with an ongoing long-term contract with Vita Coco, the world’s leading coconut water brand.
CNPF is now one of the largest suppliers of Vita Coco globally.
The company has also diversified into other high-value coconut categories such as desiccated coconut, virgin coconut oil, coconut flour and coconut milk.
It recently launched its own brand of fresh coconut milk product in the domestic market.