Malaysia’s ZUS Coffee is set to make its international debut this month with an outlet in Quezon City, the Philippines. The technology-focused coffee chain opened its first store in Binjai in late 2019 and now operates approximately 290 stores across Malaysia.
In a LinkedIn post, Chief Operating Officer Venon Tian said ZUS Coffee plans to open six outlets in the Philippines by the end of 2023.
ZUS Coffee’s international debut in the Philippines has been on the cards since March 2023, when Filipino restaurant group Choi Garden Restaurant Company acquired a 35% stake in the coffee chain.
Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Choi Garden’s Chief Operating Officer Janica Lao said: “ZUS Coffee’s growth in Malaysia has been very quick in the last three years and they are incredibly determined in serving the local Malaysian market with localized flavors. We believe that they will do the same thing in the Philippines market.”
ZUS Coffee is the latest Asian coffee chain to seek expansion in the Philippines this year as competition between Southeast Asia’s coffee chains heats up. Japanese boutique café group % Arabica relaunched in the Philippines in July 2023, 18 months after closing its three stores in the country. The Manila outlet is expected to preclude the launch of a % Arabica roastery in the Filipino capital before the end of the year.
The following month, fast-food group Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) formed a joint venture company with Singapore-based Food Collective Pte. Ltd. (FCPL) to launch Common Man Coffee Roasters in the Philippines. The first site of the partnership, which also includes a deal to bring Tiong Bahru Bakery to the country, is set to open within the next few months.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Berjaya Food is set to open the first Paris Baguette store in the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2023, with five outlets expected within the next 12 months. Berjaya Food previously brought the South Korean bakery café chain to Malaysia in January 2023.