Introducing multiple brands to further expand its diversified F&B Kingdom
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 17 November 2023 - Fulum Group Holdings Limited (HKEx stock code: 1443, the "Group" or "Fulum") is pleased to announce that the Group has entered into a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (the "Agreement") with Sunpark Holdings Pte Ltd. ("Sunpark"), an F&B corporation in Japan. The Group intends to introduce various of Sunpark's F&B brands into Hong Kong. The signing ceremony took place in Tokyo today.Fulum intends to introduce "Takagi Coffee", "Karubi Kazan" and "Hachikian" to Hong Kong in the first phase. Restaurants will be located in city centre with high foot traffic, attracting the younger generation. Takagi Coffee is a coffee house that provides specialty coffee, Japanese souffle pancakes and other light meals. Karubi Kazan mainly offers handcrafted barbeque meat rice bowls. Hachikian, established in 1970 in Kyoto, is specialised in chicken dishes.
Fulum has been expanding its "Integrated Asian F&B" line in recent years. The Group adopted a strategy of full-time catering in order to meet customers' different needs throughout the day. The Group has established various own brands, including "Meokbang Korean BBQ" and "The Charcoal Room", as well as introduced Korean brand "Terrace in Seaside", which were well received by young customers. The cooperation with Sunpark is expected to further diversify the Group's restaurant portfolio.
Mr. Samuel Yeung, CEO of the Group, said, "Hong Kong people has always favoured Japanese cuisine. Sunpark offers various specialty F&B brands and has decades of experience and insights of the industry, which is what Fulum is trying to achieve with our diversified restaurant mix. We are very excited about this strategic cooperation. Looking forward, we will continue to closely monitor latest trends and hope to introduce more of Sunpark's brands, in hopes of offering even more gourmet options in Hong Kong."
Established in 1966, Sunpark is a renowned F&B enterprise in Japan, operating 130 restaurants in Japan and around the world through direct or franchise channels. Sunpark owns 40 brands and offer various different cuisines to its customers. It has also established its own brands restaurants in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, which are all well loved by the customers. Sunpark has set sight on Hong Kong as its next destination, and joined forces with Fulum as its local partner.
Mr. Ken Takagi, CEO of Sunpark, says, "Sunpark is committed to bring quality Japanese food at highest level of hospitality from Japan to the world, one store at a time. We are honoured to partner with a strong partner like Fulum Group. This cements our relationship as family."
The strategic cooperation was brought about by "Hong Kong F&B Mission", an initiative organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo) and InvestHK. The mission was conducted in Apr 2023, with an aim of business matching between the F&B corporations in Hong Kong & Japan, as well as networking between the F&B communities in the two regions. 19 Japanese corporations and 20 Hong Kong corporations have participated in the mission.
Acting Principal Hong Kong Economic and Trade Representative (Tokyo), Mr Leo Tze, said, "Today I am happy to witness the signing of the first deal resulting from this mission, namely this partnership agreement between Sunpark and Fulum. I wish them every success in their business in Hong Kong. I believe this would be the good start and hope to hear more good news amid ongoing partnership discussion of the participant companies."
Director-General of Investment Promotion, Ms Alpha Lau, said, "When foreign and local players work together, in a strategic partnership like that of Fulum and Sunpark, I believe the synergy will only mean even more opportunities and growth potential for both sides. This partnership is the result of our collaborated programme with colleagues at Tokyo ETO. Going forward Invest Hong Kong will continue to work with ETOs around the world to assist more Mainland and foreign companies to set up their base in Hong Kong."
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Fulum Group Holdings Limited
Fulum Group Holdings Limited, a well-known diversified catering group in Hong Kong, has more than 30 years of experience in Chinese or Cantonese catering management. Through the "Fulum" main brand, the "Sportful Garden" main brand and the "Integrated Asian F&B" main line, the Group provides all kinds of catering services and create a full-time catering eco-system with an aim to meet the catering needs of diners.
As at 31 March 2023, the Group operated a total of 102 restaurants in Hong Kong, including 15 restaurants under the "Fulum" main brand, 7 restaurants under the "Sportful Garden" main brand, 80 restaurants under the "Integrated Asian F&B" main line as well as 8 supermarkets and 3 restaurants in the Mainland China. In the recent years, the Group has launched diversified restaurants including Korean light meal restaurants, Korean barbecue restaurants, Japanese hot pot, stylish Korean and Japanese cafe and food courts. The Group established a number of food court brands to expand its revenue and market share with new business model for the recent years.
