The Philippines biggest franchising group is looking at exploring agriculture as the next viable concept in franchising, building on the capacities of the farm sector.
Philippine Franchise Association president Christopher Lim said the group was keen on onboarding new agricultural trends and products as the next growth area in the local franchising industry.
“I think agriculture is a big untapped opportunity. PFA believes that it will be next big thing. We’re starting to attract new players but we’re also trying to standardize the quality and economies of scale whether they are agriculture retailers or provider of services,” he said at the sidelines of the Franchise Asia Philippines 2023 International Conference at the SMX Convention Center.
He said the agriculture sector is very aligned to the emerging trends of innovation and may help fast track the modernization of the sector and improve efficiency of stakeholders.
Agriculture franchising does not even come close to 1 percent of the franchising group’s roster of franchised concepts, with over 2,000 brands in the group’s portfolio, of which 85 percent are local and 15 percent are foreign brands.
Employment in the sector reached 2 million, both in retail and services.
Lim said a trending concept is an agricultural drone service company that offers seeding and fertilizer as well as insecticide spraying services. Another is a Cebu-based animal feeds manufacturer that is willing to franchise it retail operations.
“It doesn’t matter whether the company is micro or small, as long as they have the right business model, they can be franchisable,” he said.
He said that even pet grooming and veterinary services were being franchised even in C and D segments.
PFA expects a15-percent increase in revenues in 2023 to $32.2 billion from $28 billion in 2022.
Lim said membership in PFA is increasing parallel to the increase in the number of stores and revenues of member companies.
“We have grown 5 to 8 percent last year. We’re confident to hit double-digit growth this year as more companies are willing to try the concept of franchising on top of existing brands expanding or branching out nationwide,” he said.
Philippine franchises have the potential to generate up to 30 jobs per franchise which is an excellent way to stimulate the economy, apart from driving demand from new markets trends, said PFA chairman emeritus Samie Lim.
Franchise Asia Philippines Expo is regarded as a launchpad for the national and global expansion of franchise brands. It continues to attract foreign exhibitors and has been an effective instrument in promoting the Philippines as an investment destination.
FFA is the 7th biggest franchising group globally with over 2,000 members. About 30 brands under PFA have gone global like Jollibee, Max’s and Potato Corner. Over 50 percent of PFA’s brands are food, followed by retail, services and fashion.