Homegrown Mega Prime Foods Inc. of the Tiu Lim family is aiming for its fastest-ever sales growth in 2025 as the recent acquisition of "healthy" coffee brand Jimm's—plus potential acquisitions in the pipeline—adds more to the expanding food business.

Mega Prime Foods Chief Growth and Development Officer Marvin Tiu Lim told reporters on Friday, June 6, that the company targets its sales to grow by 28 percent this year.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michelle Tiu Lim-Chan said Mega Prime Foods' sales growth goal for the year is poised to outpace the prior years' compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 to 20 percent.

The 50-year-old Mega Prime, whose flagship products are the Mega Sardines lineup, is still the leader in the canned sardine category, with a 26-percent market share in 2023, and possibly "a bit more now," Marvin said.

Across all the food categories that the company is present in, the more robust sales outlook for the year mainly comes on the back of the acquisition of Jimm's Coffee Mix in the middle of last year, Michelle said.

Marvin said that since his elder sister Michelle took over the helm of Mega Prime Foods from their father, Chairman and Founder William Tiu Lim, in 2023, "we aimed to double our business every five years," specifically through double-digit sales growth annually.

According to Marvin, "part of our long-term strategy is to horizontally diversify and expand; this includes acquisitions of different brands that need help, whether partnerships or complete acquisition."

"It also includes coming up with a lot of new and exciting products that are not yet out in the market," he added.

While "some" talks for potential new acquisitions are ongoing, Marvin was tight-lipped and did not provide details, although the siblings hinted at a possible venture into health and wellness products.

Mega Prime Foods is currently prioritizing any acquisition of other local brands, even as venturing outside the Philippines may also be an option, "[depending] on the value it will be giving us," he said.

The Philippine market remains Mega Prime Foods' priority, with this year's capital expenditures (capex) of over ₱1 billion—about 20- to 30-percent bigger than last year's—mainly to be invested in domestic food manufacturing operations, Michelle said.

Mega Prime Foods' exports are "not big," she noted, currently accounting for around five percent of total sales. "But we really want to grow [exports] to 10 percent" of the business.

Michelle also noted that the company’s main customers for export are Filipinos working and living abroad, but the recent "Superfood" endorsement received by Mega Sardines from the United States (US)-based Medical Wellness Association (MWA) is expected to add more global customers, especially among the health-conscious consumer segments.

Mega Prime Foods also sees more opportunities than challenges from an intensifying global trade war between the US and China.

"Actually, it's an advantage to us. Number one, we import a lot from China. China is our friend, so we buy a lot from China. And they lower their prices now, because they have a lot of supply, no demand from the US," Michelle explained, referring to raw materials for canned sardine manufacturing, like tin cans and ingredients—some of which are also being sourced in other countries, like tomatoes from Italy.

"Number two, China cannot replicate our sardines, because Mega sardines are really fresh, so they cannot compete with us," she added.

On the other hand, while the US remains a small export market for Mega Prime Foods, Michelle noted that the relatively lower Philippine reciprocal tariff proposed by US President Donald Trump would make their products cheaper than those from neighboring Southeast Asian countries.