Philippine Company Joins Forces with Pillsbury

Pure Foods Corp., the consumer food arm of the Ayala group (Manila), has signed a joint venture agreement with The Pillsbury Company to expand activities in flour and flour-based products. In a statement, Pure Foods said that it would have a 40% stake in the joint venture firm dubbed Pillsbury Pure Foods Co. Inc. while Pillsbury will have 60% ownership.

Pure Foods President Renato Montemayor said the decision to forge an alliance with a globally recognized brand is in line with the company's objective to keep market leadership and "develop downstream demand" for its commodity-based flour product.

"We intend to become a major player in the retail market for premixes," Montemayor said. Flour pre-mixes include cake, pancake and doughnut mixes, and frozen bakery products.

The Pillsbury Co. is one of four subsidiaries of the British food and drinks group Diageo plc. The company has had a presence in the Philippines since 1998 with Manila-based Pillsbury Philippines, Inc. The Ayala group is the Philippines' biggest and oldest conglomerate.

Edited by Scott Hegenbart