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Pinoy left his banking job with handsome salary to sell fruit shake — and it paid off

Lester Yu was earning a handsome salary in his banking job, right after he got a bachelor’s degree in finance in De La Salle University. But then, he left his high-paying job to concentrate on his startup full-time.

“Being an entrepreneur was not my dream. But this is where my path ended,” he told Entrepreneur Philippines in an interview.

After leaving the banking industry, Yu has experienced a lot of rise and fall after venturing to different businesses in kitchenware, toys, gold trading, jewelry, and cellphone load cards. Until one day, Yu found a gap on affordable fruit shakes in the market and noticed the boom of people who wanted to get fit and eat healthy.

Back then, healthy beverages and other healthy options are only catered to high-end places making it unavailable to middle-class consumers.

Yu saw this as a perfect opportunity to try his idea in mind, thus opening his own fruit shake stand that sells healthy juices and shakes for cheaper prices.

He opened his first Fruitas store in SM Manila back in 2002 using his own savings.

“At 27 years old, I found myself starting Fruitas with no connections and financial backers,” he said.

Unable to pay for staff, Yu initially juggled in managing the kiosk, working as a crew, and delivering fruits.

Despite his labor, Yu worked hard until Fruitas finally became a staple brand in Philippines’ healthy options.

Last year, he was recognized as one of the three main awardees of the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year in the Philippines. As of the present, Fruitas has already more than 800 branches nationwide.

Photo credit: Summit Media

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