The acquisition by AgriNurture of the master local franchise of Tully’s Coffee gives the former an opportunity to supply local coffee beans to Tully outlets in Asia. "We can sell them our coffee. Of course, there may be varieties that we have to import but we will always push for as much local products as possible," Antonio Tiu, AgriNurture president, said."Being in the coffee business will be good for us and the people as well," said Tiu.
AgriNurture is set to establish growing contracts with coffee farmers for the needs of local outlets as well as Tully’s locations in Singapore, Japan and Korea. Tiu declined to reveal the value of AgriNurture’s acquisition of the master franchise for the Philippines. The first Tully’s Coffee outlet will open on November 3 at the 189-square-meter flagship store at The Fort.
"We are very excited to open the first Tully’s store in the country," said Dan Francisco, general manager of Tully Coffee Philippines. "We believe the Philippines offers great opportunities to expand the Tully’s specialty coffee concept," he added. "We will try to make our stores as conveniently located as possible for our customers," said Francisco.
"Tully’s Coffee looks forward to bringing a fresh and innovative face to the local gourmet coffee market," he added. He said the plan is to have 10 stores in the five years. Tully’s offers custom-roasted whole bean coffee, specialty coffee beverages, pastries, panini, baked goods and specialty coffee accessories.
"The number of baristas will depend per store. We are still hiring since we will hopefully be opening three more Tully’s stores before the end of the year," Francisco said. Tully Coffee is owned by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, which has led the growth in the single-serve coffee market in the United States.
"Tully Coffee Philippines is a brand under Big Chill Inc. The master franchise is between Tully and AgriNurture. So since Big Chill is AgriNurture’s retail and franchise arm, Tully stores are rolled out under The Big Chill," Francisco said.