Mary Grace Foods Inc., the local bakery chain that expanded from a 1990s bazaar kiosk into a 140-store domestic powerhouse, is making its first foray into international markets with a debut branch in Singapore.

In a briefing, Mary Grace Dimacali, Mary Grace Foods president and chief executive officer, announced that the company opened its inaugural overseas cafe in the Tanjong Pagar heritage district on March 13 to test whether its “home-cooked” branding can resonate beyond the Philippines.

Dimacali added that the city-state serves as a multicultural litmus test for the brand’s global viability.

“I think if we can make it in Singapore, we can make it everywhere,” Dimacali said, citing the local appetite for diverse cuisines.

The move follows a series of online “pop-up” trials led by Chiara Dimacali-Hugo, the founder’s eldest daughter and executive director of Mary Grace International.

Dimacali-Hugo, who is based in Singapore, said all four trial runs sold out. While Filipinos initially dominated the order books, later iterations saw an uptick in Singaporean customers. The current cafe clientele is split roughly 60 percent Filipino and 40 percent other nationalities, a ratio the company expects to shift as local awareness grows.

Operations at the Tanjong Pagar site currently face the growing pains typical of the island’s tight labor market. The cafe closes at 6 p.m. and does not yet serve dinner due to staffing shortages.

Despite the limited hours, flagship products such as the ensaymada and cheese roll frequently sell out by 2 p.m.

The expansion is funded internally, reflecting a conservative fiscal strategy that eschews outside capital. Dimacali, meanwhile, dismissed the possibility of franchising or seeking strategic investors to accelerate growth, stating the company does not currently require additional funding. This organic approach allows the family-owned business to remain flexible without the pressure of meeting fixed corporate targets or answering to external shareholders.

While Singapore remains the immediate international focus, the company is maintaining its momentum in the Philippines. It plans to open four to five new locations this year, including sites at SM Sta. Rosa-Yulo, Shangri-La Plaza, and WalterMart Makati.

Medium-term domestic goals include expanding into the Visayas and Mindanao regions, specifically targeting Cebu and Davao, where mall developers have expressed interest in the brand.