Japanese boutique café group % Arabica has relaunched in the Philippines 18 months after closing its three stores in the southeast Asian country. 
 

The Kyoto-based café group’s new store is located in Manila’s Mitsukoshi shopping centre, a Japanese-inspired mall first opened in 2022. 

The boutique operator will also open a roastery in the Filipino capital’s financial business district later this year. 

% Arabica said on social media that it was ‘ready to make a fresh start’ in the Philippines after partnering with a new local franchisee at the start of 2023. 

Founded in 2014 in Kyoto, Japan, % Arabica now operates 157 stores across 23 countries. The premium café brand’s relaunch in the Philippines precedes further planned international outlet growth over the next 12 months, with six market entries ‘coming soon’, according to the % Arabica website. 

In July 2023, % Arabica signed a franchise agreement with premium retail group SOHO Middle East to open stores across France, Germany, Portugal and Greece. The Dubai-based franchisee will also open % Arabica’s first site in Jordan before the end of the year, in Amman.