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Figaro Coffee Group, Inc. (FCG) launched two new keto-friendly products and is planning to rollout five new pizza stores in the first quarter this year.  

FCG is a food holding company that owns and operates Figaro Coffee, Angel’s Pizza, Tien Ma’s Taiwanese cuisine, The Figaro Group Express, and Café Portofino.  

“In line with our focus on providing high-quality products at value-for-money prices, we also want to ensure our selection of pastries have something for everyone, even people who want to minimize carbohydrates or those who are diabetic,” Figaro Chairman and Director Justin T. Liu said in a statement on Friday.  

FCG’s Figaro Coffee launched Sugar-free Keto Brownies and Keto Coconut Tiramisu to cater to customers on a Keto (Ketogenic) diet, or those who prefer getting calories from protein and healthy fats instead of carbohydrates.  

“In creating these products, we ensured that we strictly followed the three main tenets of a keto diet,” Figaro Coffee’s Research and Development Chief Loren Salinas Lazar said.  

Mr. Lazar explained that the brownies and coconut tiramisu were made using ingredients with healthy fats and enough protein. The keto-friendly pastries were also made with monk fruit, stevia, and erythritol.  

Both products were already launched in Metro Manila Figaro Coffee stores earlier this year. FCG said these were met with positive responses from consumers.  

MORE PIZZA STORES 

Meanwhile, FCG is planning to open five Angel’s Pizza outlets in the first quarter this year. Mr. Liu earlier told BusinessWorld that Angel’s Pizza has been the company’s “growth driver.”  

The new Angel’s Pizza branches will be launched in Lipa, Batangas, Ortigas Center’s Hanston Building, Cebu City, Calamba in Laguna, and in Bonifacio Global City’s (BGC) Avida Towers Cityflex.   

“The opening of outlets in BGC and Ortigas Business District is part of our optimism that offices and the economy will come back,” Mr. Liu said in a separate statement on Friday.  

“We see continued growth and strength outside Metro Manila, hence our new stores in Lipa, Cebu, and Laguna. We will continue to grow our outlets to reach our beloved customers and meet them where they are,” he added.  

The company made its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) last week, raising P767 million after selling 1.023 billion common shares for 75 centavos per share.  

FCG plans to use a portion of the proceeds to launch 29 Angel’s Pizza stores, six The Figaro Group (TFG) Express multi-brand outlets, five Figaro Coffee shops, and one Tien Ma’s Taiwanese cuisine restaurant.   

As of Jan. 21, 2022, the company operates 109 stores through its different food brands. Figaro Coffee shops account for 56 of these, 39 are Angel’s Pizza stores, seven TFG Express outlets, six Tien Ma’s Taiwanese cuisine restaurants, and one Café Portofino outlet.  

FCG wants to have a total of 150 system-wide stores by the end of this year and is eyeing to have over 300 system-wide stores across the country by end-2029.  

Figaro shares at the stock exchange declined 6.59% or six centavos on Friday to close at 85 centavos apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte 

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