SUDLON II, Cebu—Cebu-based Lamac Multi-purpose Cooperative plans to significantly increase its market share in the supply chain of Jollibee and Chowking in Cebu to 78 percent by 2025.
Lamac is one of the oldest and biggest groups of farmers supplying the fast-food giant’s network of stores.
Lamac Cooperative business development manager Justine Lynn Limocon said the group is now supplying 39 of 104 Jollibee Group stores.
“We intend to double the number of Jollibee stores we are supplying to 80 next year. We are diversifying our sources by getting produce from Bukidnon, helping both farmers and the Jollibee Group’s supply chain,” she said.
She said the ambition is to export produce to other Jollibee Group stores outside Cebu, once it achieved 100-percent sustainability in the province.
The group is also eyeing to develop the supply chain for Jollibee Group’s stores and the local food chain, first in Mindanao and then in the Visayas.
Limocan said the next stop after forming a cluster in Bukidnon is Bohol, where the cooperative intends to source ginger and rice from Boholaño farmers and bring the produce to Cebu.
“Our focus on quality produce, with our strong partnerships with farmers, has enabled us to gain the trust of the major food chains,” she said.
Lamac Cooperative forged partnerships with government agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA) to support its growth. The DA provided the cooperative with a P11-million facility for a rice warehouse, a rice mill and hauling trucks.
From a capitalization of P3,500 in 1973, Lamac Cooperative has grown its assets to P4 billion as of September 2024.
It is one of the pioneer implementors of the Jollibee Group Foundation’s (JGF) Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP).
