Malaysia – Epiphany Café, a New Zealand café franchise and the flagship business of Starfleet Innotech Inc., has announced it has more than doubled its domestic presence this year. To capitalize on this momentum, the company is now mobilizing into Malaysia, with plans to expand into the Philippines and United States by year-end.
According to Chito Galvez, divisional manager for franchising of Starfleet Innotech Inc., Epiphany Café plays a leading role in the conglomerate’s global growth plans, establishing the group’s footprint in new markets and creating the scaffolding necessary to expand the other products and services in SFIO’s portfolio. These include New Zealand Manuka Honey (under the Epiphany Café brand) and instant coffee (under the Gorgeous Coffee brand), both slated to be available for purchase online in North America by July.
Galvez brings over 35 years of experience in franchise business development, retail site expansion, sales building, customer service, negotiations, and business relationship building to his role spearheading SFIO’s franchising operations. Prior to joining SFIO, Galvez played crucial roles in the growth teams of F&B giants such as 7-11 and the Jollibee Group, with a career taking him across the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India, and New Zealand.
Starfleet Innotech Inc.’ CEO and Co-founder of Epiphany Cafe Jeths Lacson, shared, “At the beginning of the year, we mapped out a two-year roadmap for 200 new Epiphany Café locations across New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia,” Lacson added.
“Under Chito’s leadership, we are making great progress in our regional expansion plans.” Epiphany Café more than doubled its footprint across New Zealand in the first half of 2022, growing from 30 locations to 65 franchised and licensed locations within the country. Following the completion of market research and feasibility studies, Epiphany Café has already secured trademarks and reserved flagship locations to enter the Malaysian market. Initial teams to manage these brick-and-mortar operations in Malaysia will be training in New Zealand next quarter,” Lacson added.
As Epiphany Cafe continues to grow domestically and regionally, the SFIO group is setting the stage for an entrance into North America.
Lacson continues, “In addition to partnering with local distributors to sell our F&B products online, we’re actively exploring M&A opportunities with existing cafe and bakery businesses to bring our award-winning New Zealand brand to the United States.”
Lacson further said, “Our Chief Investments Officer Richard de Lima plays a central role in finding and shaping precisely these opportunities.”
CIO Richard de Lima is an asset manager and global corporate advisor, bringing over 30 years of experience in the capital markets to leading the conglomerate’s global partnership efforts. As an expert in business finance engineering, mergers & acquisitions, portfolio management, and strategic corporate investor relations, De Lima specializes in cross-border transactions in the lower middle market.
In addition to his experience working across Wall Street investment banking firms, he was the President and CEO of LeBevCo Holdings, a global F&B operation. Now leading SFIO’s partnership initiatives in the United States, he leverages his decades of experience and network-building among F&B distributors, manufacturers, and brick-and-mortar businesses to strike and structure the strategic deals necessary for an impactful debut for Epiphany Café.
Lacson concluded, “As we build momentum for Epiphany Café in New Zealand, Malaysia, and beyond, we continue to keep our sights trained on North America as our key market. We’re at an inflection point now in our growth journey—lining up strategic partners that share our vision. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more news around our progress in that journey.”
