Zest-O
| Private | |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Alfredo Yao |
| Headquarters | Caloocan City |
Area served | Philippines |
Key people | Alfredo Yao (Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Non-alcoholic beverages |
| Website | www.zesto.com.ph |
Zest-O Corporation is a beverage companies in the Philippines. It was founded in 1981 as SEMEXCO Marketing Corporation by businessman Alfredo Yao.
History
While touring Europe in 1979, Yao came to discover the technology in packaging called “doy packs", or flexible foil packs, in one of the European exhibits he saw. He bought one machine and tried to market the idea of doy packs to juice drink manufacturers in the Philippines. When no company took interest, he used the equipment and started preparing his own fruit juice drink formulation in his own kitchen. He put up a company called SEMEXCO Marketing Corporation and launched Zest-O orange juice drink in 1980.[1]
Expansions
To date, the company also exports mango purées to China, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, the United States, and Europe. Looking back, it started with 20 employees in a small corner of a compound. Zest-O Corporation now has over 1,000 workers in various offices across the Philippines.
Early in 2010, the company ventured with PT Kalbe Farma Tbk of Indonesia into the manufacture of a new line of energy drinks, said to be the largest pharmaceutical industry category in Southeast Asia. The new venture recently introduced to the Philippines, Indonesian and New Zealand markets its new line of energy drink called “Extra Joss”.[2]