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Universal Robina Corporation (URC)¹ is one of the largest branded food product companies in the Philippines with a growing presence in other Asian markets. It was founded in 1954 when Mr. John Gokongwei, Jr. established Universal Corn Products, a cornstarch manufacturing plant, in Pasig. The Company has since expanded and is now involved in a wide range of food businesses including the manufacture and distribution of branded consumer foods, flour milling, as well as, sugar milling and refining. In addition, the Company produces hogs and day-old chicks and manufactures animal and fish feeds, glucose and veterinary compounds. These businesses are operated through divisions and wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries that are organized into three core business segments, namely, branded consumer foods, agro-industrial products and commodity food products.

URC’s branded consumer foods division, in particular, manufactures and distributes a diverse mix of snack, chocolate, candy, biscuit, bakery, beverage, noodles and tomato-based products. These products are distributed by its direct sales force, regional distributors and independent business managers to 42,000 supermarket, grocery and sari-sari store outlets in the Philippines.

Aided by strong brand equity and keen emphasis on marketing, product innovation and quality, URC has managed to both grow its business despite the many challenges facing the country and capture leading market shares in the different categories where it competes. Indeed, FY 2004 saw business grow 14% versus FY 2003 with expectations ripe that the next FYs will see the same double-digit growth on the back of expanding outlet coverage, continued product innovation, enhanced brand equity of Jack ‘n Jill and increased presence in the beverage market. While on the other hand, focus on the Company’s Mission of being ‘…the customer’s first choice…’ and its Vision of ‘…delighting customers with trusted brands of exceptional quality and value…’ has made URC the market leader in snacks, candies, chocolates and pork & beans.

To sustain the momentum, URC will continue to: 1) align its Sales structure to reach more outlets and better serve the requirements of its Key Accounts and General Trade and, 2) dedicate substantial resources to advertising, promotion campaign and market research in order to maintain/ improve market shares and introduce more new products.