KUALA LUMPUR: Farm Fresh Bhd plans to open up to 300 Jomcha shops nationwide under its three-year business plan through wholly-owned beverage unit Farm Fresh Jomcha Sdn Bhd.
Farm Fresh expects the beverage unit to be worth about RM100 million by 2025.
The dairy company introduced the new milk tea brand Jomcha in August of this year. Currently, there are eight Jomcha locations.
According to Farm Fresh Jomcha managing director (MD) Eddie Lim, it would invest roughly RM8 million and have 25 outlets this year.
It will spend RM20 million the following year to open 75 outlets in shopping malls and integrated townships.
"The brand Jomcha is expanding quickly. Our original plan was to expand into the food and beverage sector without leaving behind our primary activity, which is the production of fresh milk.
"Jomcha is what we come up with using fresh milk as the base, and demand for it has skyrocketed," Lim told the New Straits Times.
He said the team was growing.
To keep up with the increasing demand for Farm Fresh Jomcha products, the parent company is expanding its centralised kitchen and warehouse at its Serdang farm.
"This brand is likely to be a tremendous hit. We are the only beverage firm that makes yogurt, ice cream, and beverages from fresh milk. We use the freshest ingredients going into the cup at an affordable price.
" Our drinks range in price from RM6.80 to RM11.80, while ice cream is only RM5.80. In keeping with Farm Fresh's goal, which involves fighting sugar, we have lowered the sugar content," Lim explained.
The 65-acre plot of land where the Farm Fresh farm in Serdang is located is owned by Universiti Putra Malaysia. It also houses The Acre restaurant, Jomcha, a milk production facility, and an ice cream shop.
Jomcha has 20 various flavours made with Farm Fresh dairy products, which helps to showcase the company's offerings.
Jom Cha is another option for Farm Fresh to increase revenue, perhaps through a franchising structure, providing even another way to entice entrepreneurs beyond the already wildly successful Home Dealer programme.
"Being one of the most aggressive beverage companies, it is a game of sustainability. With Farm Fresh's support, we can become larger than our three-year plan," said Lim.
He expects Farm Fresh Jomcha to generate revenues of between RM20 million and RM30 million by December 2023, and RM100 million by the end of 2025.
Building the Jomcha brand was not a difficult task, according to Lim, who worked for 10 years in finance and sales at Nestle Malaysia Bhd before joining Dutch Lady Malaysia Industries Bhd as financial controller and head of audit.
Lim joined Farm Fresh as the head of audit, risk, and strategy, before being renamed as the MD of Farm Fresh JomCha.
He said there were currently no plans for international development as the company was concentrating on establishing its three-year business strategy and building its brand.