Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) is set to capitalize on the flourishing coconut industry by acquiring Coco Harvest Inc., a coconut processing facility in Misamis Occidental, Mindanao. 

In an interview, CNPF executive vice president and chief operations officer Gregory H. Banzon said the company expects that the acquisition will start contributing to its financial growth as early as next year.

He also pointed out that the buyout will help augment the company’s coconut capacity by next month.

The anticipated capacity increase will enable CNPF to meet the growing demand for coconut milk products, especially with the holiday season approaching.

“Realistically, (it may start contributing financially) by January but we are scaling up in capacity. It’s going to start contributing to volume as early as October or November. Right now, we are trying to concentrate on meeting domestic demand,” Banzon said. 

“(Our coconut business), in terms of total revenues, north of about P5 to P6 billion on an annualized basis,” he noted. 

Early this month, CNPF announced its full buyout of Coco Harvest for $40 million. 

The investment covers the purchase and planned improvements of the facility, which produces coconut water, coconut milk, desiccated coconut and virgin coconut oil.

The deal is also expected to create over 1,500 manufacturing jobs and provide market access to local coconut farmers.

Built in 2016, the 6-hectare facility is strategically located in a region rich in coconut supply, enhancing CNPF’s capacity to meet the growing demand for coconut-based products in domestic and export markets.

Expansion slated

For Banzon, the recent business move was primarily aimed at addressing the significant increase in customer demand for coconut products, which he said was also generated by CNPF.

“Right now, it’s scaling up distribution. So we were pioneering. Other small brands were trying to crack the gata (coconut milk) market. I guess the organization was bold enough to try to make it into a package for most of the people,” Banzon said.

He added that to further expand its operations, the company is also looking at boosting its presence in the North American region.