Cheyenne Suarez

Building growth through strategic partnerships

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<div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176827250122520251231071228_Bounty-Fresh-Market-Edge-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Screenshot source: ANC Market Edge </em></span></span></span></div><p style="line-height:1">Business navigating daily operational demands and critical strategic decisions require more than just financial services, they require a partner capable of understanding the complexities of their operations, anticipating challenges, and supporting growth at every stage. Effective partnerships are built on insight, trust, and long-term collaboration, allowing companies to not only manage current needs, but also plan routine operations, capital planning, and strategic expansion, ensuring clients have the resources and guidance to achieve sustained growth.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Metrobank has worked with Bounty Fresh for decades, helping the company grow from a small poultry business into a diversified enterprise.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;We have been with them throughout their growth cycle. From their early days in chicken operations to their expansion into overseas markets, and even their move into restaurants, we have seen it all and supported them every step of the way,&quot; said Joey Mapa, Metrobank Head of Commercial Banking- Metro Manila, in a conversation with ANC Market Edge, hosted by Michelle Ong.</p><div style="line-height:1"><strong> </strong></div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>Built on trust and reliability</strong></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Chairman Tennyson Chen said the relationship began informally, but strengthened once the company demonstrated responsible financial management.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;At first, it was a casual knowing each other. We were able to show Metrobank that we are a credit-worthy company,&quot; said Tennyson Chen, Chairman of Bounty Fresh Group Holdings.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Since then, Metrobank has assisted Bounty Fresh with lines of credit, letters of credit, cash management, and financing for capital expenditures.</p><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176827254746520251231071228_Bounty-Fresh-Market-Edge-2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Screenshot source: ANC Market Edge </em></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;They started giving us line, helping us open LC, helping us with the cash management,&quot; said Chen. &quot;Every year, we also invest in CAPEX and Metrobank also assists us in that. I think it is almost 20-something years already that we have been working with them,&quot; he added. </p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>Learning the business from the ground up</strong></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Before achieving significant growth, Bounty Fresh started with hands-on work. Chen remembers staying overnight at the farm to receive his first chicks in 1986 and spending long days in the plant learning every step of production.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;I stayed in the farm overnight to accept the chick the next morning. You just need to understand everything about growing chickens,&quot; he said.</p><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768272866411brandnews 1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photo source: Bounty Fresh, Metrobank </em></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768272917550brandnews 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em> Photo source: Bounty Fresh, Metrobank </em></span></span></span></div><p style="line-height:1"> Early growth resulted from working alongside employees and reinvesting every peso back into the business.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>From humble roots to global scale</strong></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">That discipline laid the foundation for expansion. Today, Bounty Fresh is one of the largest poultry producers in the Philippines and operates in three countries, including New Zealand and Indonesia.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;Metrobank was one of those banks that helped us syndicate a loan to buy a company in New Zealand. It is called Tegel Foods. It currently supplies 25% of all the meat that is consumed in New Zealand,&quot; Chen said. </p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Daily operations are substantial. &quot;We currently produce around a million chickens a day that we slaughter or sell live. Egg production is around that number as well,&quot; he added.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Even as it grew, Bounty Fresh maintained focus on supporting small farmers.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;Unlike in other countries where big companies sort of like to dominate the market, we like to help farmers, around 40% we sell to small farmers. So, we only keep 60% of what is needed,&quot; he said. </p><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176827296160920251231071228_Bounty Fresh Market Edge 3.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Screenshot source: ANC Market Edge </em></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>Knowing the business, planning ahead</strong></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">For Metrobank, partnerships are most effective when the bank understands the business and its goals.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;We take the time to understand how the company operates, who the key people are, and what their goals are. By knowing the business and thinking ahead, we ensure partners feel supported at every turn. It is not just about providing a product; it is about anticipating what they might need next and helping them plan for it,&quot; Mapa said.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>Partnerships that support milestones and plans</strong></div><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">Metrobank has supported Bounty Fresh through major business moves. In 2018, the company acquired New Zealand&#x27;s Tegel Group Holdings, one of the largest outbound Philippine deals in nearly two years.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">The bank also assisted with the company&#x27;s restaurant expansion, securing a portion in TBG Food Holdings, owner of The Bistro Group, from A. Soriano Corp.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;We were there to support these moves because we understood what they wanted to do and saw that it made sense. Whether it is acquisitions, expansions, or operational decisions like integrating raw materials, we make sure we are guiding them in ways that align with their long-term goals,&quot; Mapa said.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">As Bounty Fresh continues to grow through selective mergers and acquisitions, Metrobank considers resilience as the true measure of success.</p><div style="line-height:1"> </div><p style="line-height:1">&quot;If they can really prove that they can withstand all of the pressures, external pressures, internal pressures, market challenges, then we know that this is a company that is here to stay,&quot; Mapa said.</p><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17682730173522025121909128_Wall Mural_90 x 120cm.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photo source: Bounty Fresh </em></span></span></span></div><p style="line-height:1">Bounty Fresh is planning to expand beyond poultry into food, housing, education, and health, although it has not disclosed specific projects or timelines. Chairman Tennyson Chen said Metrobank has been a long-standing partner of the group and would be among the banks the company would engage as plans for the offering progress.</p><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7cgJbmpIwFI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><br/></div>

<p>Take a close look at how decades of partnership helped a local chicken farm grow into a global business.</p>

Take a close look at how decades of partnership helped a local chicken farm grow into a global business.

Building growth through strategic partnerships

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Building growth through strategic partnerships

Metrobank

Published Jan 15, 2026 04:45 PM PHT

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