Universal Robina

Universal Robina Corporation (URC) is a Philippine company based in Quezon City, Philippines. It is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the Philippines.

Universal Robina Corporation
FormerlyUniversal Corn Products Inc. (1954–1966)
Consolidated Foods Corporation / CFC Corporation (1961–2004)
Robina Farms Inc. (1963–1966)
TypePublic
PSE: URC
IndustryManufacturing
FoundedSeptember 28, 1954 (1954-09-28)
FounderJohn Gokongwei Jr.
Headquarters6/F Tera Tower, Bridgetowne, E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue, Barangay Ugong Norte, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Area served
Southeast Asia and China[1]
Key people
  • Lance Y. Gokongwei
    (Chairman)
  • Irwin C. Lee
    (President and CEO)[2]
ProductsConfectionery, snack foods, grocery and convenience foods, beverages, animal feeds and other agriculture-based products
RevenueIncrease PHP₱ 134.2 billion (2020)[3][4]
Increase PHP₱ 11.9 billion (2020)[3][4]
Decrease PHP₱ 10.1 billion (2020)[3][4]
AUMIncrease PHP₱ 64.8 billion (2020)[3][4]
Total assetsIncrease PHP₱ 168.7 billion (2020)[3][4]
Total equityIncrease PHP₱ 95.2 billion (2020)[3][4]
Number of employees
12,320
ParentJG Summit Holdings
Websiteurc.com.ph
Former logo used from 1989 until 2016.

URC is a core subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGSHI) which is one of the largest business conglomerates listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.[5]

History

The company was founded on September 28, 1954 by John Gokongwei, Jr.[6] under the name Universal Corn Products (UCP) after Gokongwei decided to construct a corn milling plant to produce glucose and cornstarch.

In 1961, Consolidated Food Corporation was established. The first product made by the company was the coffee brand Blend 45. It became one of the best-selling coffee brands in the local market, beating Café Puro and Nescafé at that time. After the success of Blend 45, the company created Nips, a chocolate candies similar to M&M's. It became a staple in Filipino childhood.

In 1963, Robina Farms started their operations with poultry products. This mark the beginning of the vertical integration of the Gokongwei businesses, as the farms would be able to purchase feeds from UCP in the future. In the same decade, Robichem Laboratories was established for the veterinary needs of the farms' businesses. In the 1970s, Robina Farms expanded their operations as they entered the piggery business.[7]

In 1966, Universal Robina Corporation was established, and the company pioneered the savory snacks industry in the Philippines under the Jack 'n Jill brand. The brand ranged from potato chips to candies and biscuits like Chiz Curls, Piattos, and Chippy.

In 2014, Universal Robina expanded to Oceania by acquiring New Zealand-based biscuit company, Griffin's Foods. This was followed by the acquisition of Snack Brands Australia in 2016.[8] In December 2019, Universal Robina and German company Intersnack formed Unisnack ANZ, a joint venture comprising Griffin's Foods and Snack Brands Australia. Intersnack held a 40% stake in the consolidated business.[9][10] In August 2021, Universal Robina exited the Australian and New Zealand market by selling its remaining 60% stake in Unisnack ANZ to Intersnack.[11]

In November 2021, Universal Robina entered an agreement to purchase Malaysia-based Munchy's from CVC Capital Partners for US$454 million.[12]

Presence

Universal Robina is based in Quezon City and as of 2018 has 19 production sites in the Philippines. It also has production sites in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia. The company also maintains an exclusive distributor presence in Laos and Cambodia, as well as sales offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.[8]

Sports

URC owned the Philippine Basketball Association franchise Great Taste Coffee Makers which played from the inaugural 1975 season to 1992 when the company sold the team to Sta. Lucia Realty.[13] The Coffee Makers won six PBA championships.

See also

References
  1. "About Us".
  2. Dumlao-Abadilla, Doris (April 26, 2018). "URC names Lee new CEO". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. "Universal Robina Corporation".
  4. "Wall Street Journal".
  5. "Company Information". PSE Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology. The Philippine Stock Exchange. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  6. "URC.PH | Universal Robina Corp. Company Profile & Executives - WSJ". www.wsj.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  7. "Universal Robina Corp". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  8. Dumlao-Abadilla, Doris (December 3, 2018). "Globalizing corporate Philippines". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  9. "URC sells stake in snacks joint venture to partner Intersnack". BusinessWorld Online. July 30, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  10. Berry, Kim (July 17, 2019). "Snack Brands Aust owner and Intersnack Group deal". Food & Drink Business. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  11. Burgos, Jonathan (August 2, 2021). "Philippine Gokongwei Group Exits Australia, New Zealand Snack Foods Business". Forbes. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  12. Burgos, Jonathan. "Philippines' Gokongwei Group Buys Malaysia's Munchy For $454 Million, Boosting Southeast Asian Footprint". Forbes. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  13. "PBA honors founding team owner John Gokongwei with a moment of silence". Spin.ph. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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