Comfoods facts for kids
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Trade name
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Comfoods |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food and drink |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founder | James Huang |
| Headquarters | Comfoods Building, , |
| Products | Instant and ground roasted coffee, chocolate, cookies, crackers |
| Brands |
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Commonwealth Foods, Inc., often called Comfoods, is a company from the Philippines. It makes and sells many popular food and drink products. Comfoods is based in Makati, a city in Metro Manila.
Contents
History of Comfoods
How Comfoods Started
Commonwealth Foods, Inc. (Comfoods) began in the Philippines in 1951. It was started by James Huang, a Chinese Filipino. He was born in Amoy, which is now called Xiamen.
James Huang got help from DeWitt Dyckman, a coffee trader from New York. In 1952, they opened a factory in Makati. Here, they roasted and packed coffee. Their first coffee brands were Café Puro and Café Excelente.
New Coffee and Growth
In 1955, Comfoods introduced Café Bueno. This was the first soluble coffee in the Philippines. Soluble coffee is also known as instant coffee. You just add hot water to it.
By the late 1950s, Café Puro became very popular. It was the second most popular coffee brand in the country. Only Nestlé was more popular.
James Huang also started two other companies. These were Philippine Food Industries (Philfoods) in 1953 and Filipinas Biscuit Corporation (Fibisco) in 1959. Later, in 1968, both companies joined with Comfoods.
Expanding to Other Countries
Comfoods tried to grow its business outside the Philippines. In 1960, they opened a branch and a factory in British Hong Kong.
In August 1962, Comfoods began selling Café Puro in Singapore and Malaya. They worked with a company called Guthrie & Company for this. Comfoods later stopped its main operations in Hong Kong. However, the Comfoods company branch there still exists.
Comfoods Products
Comfoods first started by making and selling packaged roasted coffee. They had different brands like Café Puro, Café Excelente, and Café Bueno.
Chocolate and Sweets
The Ricoa part of Comfoods makes chocolate and chocolate-based items. These include Ricoa cocoa powder and chocolate syrup. They also make popular chocolate candies like Flat Tops and Curly Tops.
Cookies and Crackers
The Fibisco part of Comfoods makes cookies and crackers. One of their well-known products is Choco Mallows. These are biscuits covered in chocolate with a marshmallow inside.
