Zest-O putting up manufacturing plant in Indonesia

MANILA, Philippines - Beverage manufacturer Zest-O Corp. is putting up a manufacturing plant in Indonesia with a local partner to bolster the distribution of its products in Asean.

In an interview yesterday, Zest-O chairman and president Alfredo Yao said he is bound for Indonesia this week to sign a formal agreement with its local partner which he declined to identify at the moment.

Yao said Zest-O’s joint venture partner is a listed company in Indonesia and is also in the beverage business.

 “So we will put up a manufacturing facility there. We will be starting, I think, with two lines only, I don’t know yet what the volume is,” he said.

 “We have some distribution already in Indonesia but it’s hard because of the cost of logistics. So it is critical to have a local plant,” Yao added.

Yao said Zest-O is bullish on Indonesia’s beverage market because it has similarities with the Philippines in terms of climate and its large population.

The Indonesia facility, which will be used for the production of both Zest-O products and the Indonesian brand, will be the Yao Group’s third manufacturing plant abroad following facilities in China and US.

“We’ve been in China for quite some time now but we cannot produce due to some patent issues. In the US, we are currently rehabilitating a plant there because it has not been in production for quite some time,” Yao said.

Yao said the company is hoping its US plant will start production within the year.

Founded in 1981, Zest-O manufactures juice drinks, Choc-O, Zesto fruit soda, and Zest-O Slice fruit drink.

The firm is currently exporting its products to Southeast Asian countries Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

Depending on the demand of these markets, Yao earlier said the company may consider building manufacturing facilities in othert countries as well.