‘Cloud’ delivery food service is top PH growth champion

CloudEats, Greatwork, Digiplus top list drawn up by Inquirer, Statista

CloudEats, a pioneering Manila-headquartered cloud restaurant company, has topped the list of Philippines’ Growth Champions 2025, the annual compilation of top performing companies in the country. 

The annual search for the Philippines’ Growth Champions, now on its fifth year, is a joint undertaking of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and renowned international market research firm Statista.

CloudEats, which was founded in 2019, is a new age F&B group that has vastly expanded customers’ choices through online-only restaurants it operates within its multi-brand cloud kitchens. 

Like many other businesses, the company’s growth trajectory was affected by the Covid 19 pandemic that virtually shut down the whole country, resulting in a significant rise in delivery services, particularly for food and beverages.

Kimberly Yao, Co- Founder and CEO of CloudEats, said “the pandemic was a double-edged sword for a business like us. The pandemic inflated demand for food delivery but, at the same time, operating a business successfully during a global pandemic was also very tough on our people, processes and capital raising efforts.”

She added, “Covid accelerated a behavior in humans that we already foresaw even before the global pandemic – a need for easy, convenient, high quality and high variety food.”  

As with other businesses that grew and thrived during the global health crisis, technology allowed the company to overcome the many challenges it faced. 

Iacopo Rovere,  Co-Founder and COO of CloudEats, said “technology was fundamental to CloudEats expansion and efficiency”. 

From a total revenue of P123.329 million in 2020, CloudEats earned P1.136 billion in 2023.

Its absolute growth rate (AGR) was an impressive 821.74 percent while its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeded 100 percent – 109.67 percent.

    Number two on this year’s list of growth champions is Greatwork, a real estate company launched in 2017. 

Although it remains a modest company, growing its staff from five to just 15 in 2023, its AGR was 736.33 percent and its CAGR is 102.98 percent.

    Its P10.324 million in revenues in 2020 increased to P86.343 million.

DigiPlus, a leisure and entertainment company, which was founded in 1957, was third with an AGR of 660.5 percent and a CAGR of 96.65 percent.

    The company, which is listed on the stock exchange, grew its 2020 income of P3.583 billion to P27.251 billion in 2023.

    At fourth place is the Wela School Systems, an information technology (IT) and software company providing end-to-end services to school systems through one app that allows students and parents to access information they need.

    Wela, which was founded in 2017, had an AGR of 479.19 percent and CAGR of 79.59 percent. From a total revenue of P21.664 million in 2020, it earned P125.479 million in 2023.

   RedRoot Artists Cooperative, number five on the list of growth champions, had an AGR of 449.12 percent and CAGR of 76.42 percent. The advertising and marketing company, which was founded in 2008, earned P9.363M in 2020. This increased to P51.414M in 2023.

    Another IT and software company, MyBusybee, founded in 2012, was sixth on the list with an AGR of 391.27percent and CAGR of 70 percent. 

Its total revenue of P40.129 million in 2020 rose to P197.146 million in 2023.

    Food and beverage company Balai ni Fruitas was in seventh place with an AGR of 391.2 percent and CAGR of 69.99 percent. 

The company, which was founded in 2005 and is listed on the stock exchange, raised its revenue from P108.820 million in 2020 to P534.526 million in 2023.

    Booth and Partners, which was founded in 2013 and provides professional scientific and technical services, was eighth with an AGR of 390.52 percent and CAGR of 69.91. It grew its income from P209.513 million in 2020 to P1.028 billion in 2023.

    ECo Global Consulting, another company offering IT and software services, was ninth with an AGR of 343.18 percent and CAGR of 64.26 percent. Its revenues in 2020 totaled P21.293 million, which increased to P94.369 million in 2023.

    Rounding off the Top 10 growth champions is Cebu Air with an AGR of 300.58 percent and CAGR of 58.82 percent. 

The logistics and transportation company, which was founded in 1988, earned P22.62 billion in 2020. In 2023, its revenues surged to P90.602 billion.

To identify the Growth Champions 2025, Statista, the Germany-based international market research firm, compiled a list of and ranked the fastest-growing companies in the Philippines, which were chosen based on revenue growth between 2020 and 2023. 

Jiyun Lehner-Lee, lead analyst for Philippines Growth Champions, said, “The world has witnessed the Philippines’ strong economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.” 

The 2025 search identified companies that significantly contributed to the nation’s economic rebound and continued to demonstrate their value.

Added Kat Dalusong, vice president and group sales head of the Inquirer Group of Companies, “The latest edition of the Philippines Growth Champions honors companies that have demonstrated unwavering resilience and strategic adaptability, thriving despite adversity. Their success reinforces the importance of innovation and flexibility in today’s evolving business landscape.”

See Also

Stellar marketers honored at PMA’s 43rd Agora Awards

Companies listed on the Philippines’ Growth Champions 2025 will have the chance to enter the upcoming edition of the Financial Times’ High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific.  

           Inclusion in the Philippines’ Growth Champions 2025 list is expected to open new business opportunities, as it is a visible and public acknowledgement of a company’s performance that extends far beyond its specific industry and country. 

It will also generate attention for the business on the part of potential partners, customers, and investors around the world.

           Being included in the high-profile ranking of the Philippine Daily Inquirer is expected to increase awareness of the company as an employer, it also gives potential employees an understanding of the company’s future potential. 

Corporate growth usually generates demand for new employees.

        All companies that make it into the list may use the award logo for marketing purposes. This logo and the use for marketing purposes are subject to a licensing fee.

          Companies that were considered for inclusion in Growth Champions 2025 had to meet the following criteria:

Revenue of at least ₱5,000,000 generated in 2020

Revenue of at least ₱30,000,000 generated in 2023

Be independent (the company acts largely independently in its business decisions and does not receive significant sales from parent or related companies)

Be headquartered in the Philippines

The revenue growth between 2020 and 2023 was primarily organic (i.e. “internally” stimulated)

Revenue data submitted, which had to be signed in person by a Managing Director or a member of the company’s Executive Committee (CEO or CFO), was verified.