Epiphany Cafe doubles NZ locations, eyes four new locations in Malaysia

As the award-winning New Zealand cafe franchise makes inroads into Southeast Asia, parent company Starfleet Innotech shares additional progress on the global expansion of its F&B ecosystem.

NEW YORK, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Award-winning New Zealand cafe franchise Epiphany Cafe today announced it has more than doubled its domestic footprint since the beginning of the year. Leveraging this momentum, the business is now mobilizing into Malaysia, with plans for an expansion into the Philippines and the United States before year-end.

Epiphany Cafe is the flagship business in global investment holding company Starfleet Innotech, Inc. (OTC Pink: SFIO)’s F&B ecosystem. According to Chito Galvez, SFIO’s Divisional Manager for Franchising, Epiphany Cafe plays a leading role in the conglomerate’s global growth plans, establishing the group’s footprint in new markets and creating the scaffolding necessary to expand the other products and services in SFIO’s portfolio. These include New Zealand Manuka Honey (under the Epiphany Cafe brand) and instant coffee (under the Gorgeous Coffee brand), both slated to be available for purchase online in North America by July.

Galvez brings over 35 years of experience in franchise business development, retail site expansion, sales building, customer service, negotiations, and business relationship building to his role spearheading SFIO's franchising operations. Prior to joining SFIO, Galvez played crucial roles in the growth teams of F&B giants such as 7-11 and the Jollibee Group, with a career taking him across the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India, and New Zealand.

“At the beginning of the year, we mapped out a two-year roadmap for 200 new Epiphany Cafe locations across New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia,” said SFIO CEO and Co-founder of Epiphany Cafe Jeths Lacson. “Under Chito’s leadership, we are making great progress in our regional expansion plans.” Epiphany Cafe more than doubled its footprint across New Zealand in the first half of 2022, growing from 30 locations to 65 franchised and licensed locations within the country. Following the completion of market research and feasibility studies, Epiphany Cafe has already secured trademarks and reserved flagship locations to enter the Malaysian market. Initial teams to manage these brick-and-mortar operations in Malaysia will be training in New Zealand next quarter.