THE Concepcion-controlled RFM Corp. and Unilever have agreed to further bolster their partnership as they reaffirmed their commitment to the Philippine ice cream market.
RFM Chief Executive Officer Jose Maria Concepcion III recently hosted the top management meeting of the Unilever-RFM Corp. joint venture and local maker and seller of Selecta, Magnum, Cornetto ice cream brands.
RFM is eyeing stronger performance from the partnership with the global ice cream segment of Unilever under President Peter ter Kulve, Concepcion said in a statement.
Both industry titans acknowledged the immense growth potential of the Philippines as a consumer and ice cream market.
The Selecta Ice Cream brand itself has a long history, which started with the Arce family in the late 1940s which was eventually bought by RFM Corp. under Concepcion in 1990.
Under RFM, the Selecta ice cream brand further flourished into a strong national ice cream brand that featured endorsers like Sharon Cuneta, Aga Mulach, Vhong Navarro, Piolo Pascual, Luis Manzano, Sarah Geronimo, and many other stars over the years.
In 1999, the joint venture Unilever RFM Ice Cream Inc. was born when RFM Corp.’s Selecta Ice Cream business and Unilever joined forces to level up the ice cream experience of Philippine consumers with new brands like Magnum and Cornetto.
Today, the Unilever RFM Ice Cream partnership is a leading player in the industry, consistently ranking among Unilever’s top-performing ice cream businesses globally and placing the Philippines within its top ten markets.
The CEO of the listed food and beverage company (PSE: RFM) said that RFM shareholders could expect continued growth through innovations from Unilever’s global ice cream R&D, new brands and updated consumer insights alongside the local entrepreneurship spirit from RFM management.
The ice cream segment is about one-third of the total revenues of RFM Corp. and stands as key anchor of the RFM growth story.
RFM Corp. is one of the biggest food and beverage companies in the Philippines, with over $300 million asset-size in 2014, according to its websites.
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