Former senator and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is stepping into the coffee business with a P200-million investment in Cebu, aiming to help revive the local coffee industry while creating a tourism-driven lifestyle brand.

Pacquiao recently broke ground for the MP Coffee flagship store at City di Mare in Cebu City’s South Road Properties, marking his first major business venture in the province. The project comes as the Philippines continues to face a wide gap between coffee production and domestic demand.

The 750-square-meter development will feature a specialty coffee bar, restaurant, industrial roastery, coffee academy, merchandise center and interactive exhibits highlighting Pacquiao’s journey from poverty to becoming an eight-division world boxing champion.

Beyond the flagship store, MP Coffee plans to establish an integrated coffee ecosystem that includes roasting operations, training programs, wholesale distribution, digital commerce and “Manny Punch” retail kiosks in airports, ferry terminals and other high-traffic locations nationwide.

The venture is also expected to support local coffee-growing communities by sourcing beans directly from farmers and promoting heirloom varieties. Pacquiao said the company intends to help strengthen the domestic coffee value chain and improve opportunities for producers.

MP Coffee said its long-term goal is to build a globally recognized Filipino coffee brand while showcasing the country’s ability to produce all four commercially viable coffee varieties — Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and Excelsa.