June 28, 2012 BUSINESS MIRROR (page B2-4)   AGRICULTURE/ COMMODITIES   POTATO CORNER to launch 4 new  brands this year   CINCO CORPORATION,  owner of Potato Corner, is launching four new brands in the country  within the year that are expected to hike the company ‘s total sales by 50 percent starting 2012.             Also, Cinco Corp., President Jose P. Magsaysay Jr. told the BUSINESS  MIRROR  that the company is now setting in motion an aggressive expansion plan in the United States, with the goal of establishing 100 additional Potato Corner outlets there in three years.             “We are preparing already the business plan ( for the four new brands). After that, maybe by the end of July, we will start looking for sites and hopefully by September we will start operations. We will have proof of concept stores  first, maybe one or two each, but if they succeed , we will offer them for franchise immediately.”, Magsaysay said.             These new brands , he said, will all be in the food category, ranging from food carts to fast- food dine-in restaurants.             For the US, Magsaysay said the company has been getting a lot of inquiries from prospective franchisees, which is why they are now building up their management and manpower capabilities to  support the expansion there.             Potato Corner now has eight outlets in the US and is opening about three of four more this year, he said.             “We are now in the mainstream in the US and I believe Potato Corner is one of only  two Filipino brands that got the clearance to set up franchise outlets in all the States in the US. We see 100 new outlets in the US in the next three years because of Franchising and Potato Corner USA will be bigger than Potato Corner Philippines,” he said.             Magsaysay, who is the overall chairman of the FAP 2012 scheduled at the SMX Convention Center from July 25 to 29, said Filipino brand owners need to acquaint themselves better with franchising as it is the best tool to “achieve rapid growth or hyper growth”.             Through franchising, he said Potato Corner managed to establish about 250 outlets in the Philippines, 22 outlets in Indonesia, and one each in Malaysia and Panama in its 20 years of operation.             Potato Corner, he said, expects a 50-percent sales growth this year in its Philippine operations alone.             -Max V. de Leon-