Johnsonville LLC of the US plans to bring the production of super-premium sausages to the Philippines through the joint venture company it created with Frabelle Fishing Corp.
Joint venture and Frabelle Corp. chief executive Nick Meriggioli said the economics of producing in the Philippines was better than bringing in the product at high tariff.
“This is just one of the options we are considering to make Johnsonville products more visible and affordable in the local setting,” he said in a briefing Monday.
Johnsonville exports about four sausage lines in the Philippines, with plans to deliver more stock keeping units in the immediate term. The Philippines is one of the biggest hot dog-consuming markets in the world.
Johnsonville plans to maximize the capacity of the Frabelle facilities in Caloocan City with a rated capacity of 70 metric tons per day and two toll manufacturing plants in Cavite and Pampanga with a combined capacity of almost 200 metric tons per day.
The joint venture will sell Johnsonville products and Frabelle products separately under one supply chain.
The joint venture was recently approved by the Philippine Competitions Commission after an assessment showed it would not result in market dominance in the domestic sausage and hotdog industry.
The joint venture will ensure the efficient production, distribution and sale of chilled and frozen meats, primarily hotdogs and sausages to the Philippines from the Johnsonville production house in the US.
Johnsonville has 75 years in sausage manufacturing in different geographies. It has a 51 percent-equity in the Frabelle joint venture.
It product line include brats, Italian sausage, smoked-cooked links, breakfast sausage, summer sausage, and meatballs.