Jollibee

### Area Served

Southeast Asia, Middle East, Western Europe, North America, East Asia (Hong Kong, Macau)

### Parent

Jollibee Foods Corporation

**Jollibee** is a Filipino multinational chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of April 2018, JFC had a total of about 1,200 Jollibee outlets worldwide; with presence in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia (Hong Kong, Macau), North America, and Europe (Italy, UK).

## History[edit source]

In 1975, Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia ice cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City. The outlet later began offering hot meals and sandwiches upon request from customers. When the food items became more popular than ice cream, the family decided to convert the ice cream parlor into a fast food restaurant which became the first Jollibee outlet in 1978. Management consultant Manuel C. Lumba advised the family on the change in strategy. Initially Jollibee was named "Jolibe" but changed its name to "Jollibee".

The company that would be managing the chain of fast food, Jollibee Foods Corporation was incorporated in January 1978. By the end of that year, there were seven branches in Metro Manila. The first franchised outlet of Jollibee opened in Santa Cruz, Manila in 1979.

Jollibee experienced rapid growth. It was able to withstand the entry of McDonald's in the Philippines in 1981 by focusing on the specific tastes of the Filipino market, which differed from the American fast food company. The first Jollibee store overseas opened in Taiwan in 1986 which is now closed. Jollibee continued to expand and set up outlets both within the country and abroad. Mr. Tan Caktiong, the son of poor Chinese immigrants, is now a billionaire.

## Products

Jollibee is a fast food restaurant with American-influenced items, as well as casual Filipino fare.

Among the establishment's best sellers are its Yumburger, the house hamburger first introduced during their early days of operation; Chicken Joy, a fried chicken meal introduced in the 1980s; and Jolly Spaghetti, their sweet-style interpretation of spaghetti, which is being advertised as "the meatiest, cheesiest spaghetti". (The Jolly Spaghetti resembles that of Italian spaghetti, with its blanket of ragù, but under the ground beef are pieces of hot dog and ham.)

Outside the Philippines, key products such as its chicken, spaghetti, and burgers are sold overseas but also offers localized products in its international markets such as chili chicken in Vietnam and nasi lemak in Brunei. In the Philippines, Jollibee serves Coca-Cola products for its beverages; in overseas markets, the chain serves Pepsi products.

### Chickenjoy

The Chickenjoy, a key product of Jollibee is a breaded crispy chicken meal. The way the chicken is marinated is a trade secret. It is cited in 2019 as the bestseller of the fast food brand in "every market in the world" according to Dennis Flores, the head and President of Jollibee Foods Corporation for EMEAA. The meal can be ordered in a number of different options from their menu. Examples include in by itself (solo), in a value meal, with buttered corn, or with jolly spaghetti.

### Yumburger

The Yumburger is a hamburger sold by Jollibee and one of the fast food chain's signature products. The Yumburger was first offered in 1970 as their first flagship product.

In 2017, a new edition called the Aloha Yumburger was introduced. The hamburger contains a beef patty topped with mayonnaise. The burger can be bought at different prices, depending on the size.

In 1998, the burger was introduced in the United States, which also garnered the attention of other countries such as Singapore, Italy, and Qatar. In 2017, the company re-launched the Aloha Yumburger, and in 2018 the Yumburger was introduced in London and New York, with advertising focused on the double Yumburger. The burger was also introduced in Edmonton, Canada.

In 2017, an advertising video on YouTube about the Yumburger went viral in the Philippines. A 2019 Yumburger ad about love on Father's Day later spurred some memes.

Merchandise depicting the Yumburger was released in 2018 as a collectible toy set with the Jolly Kiddle Meal.

In *The Daily Telegraph*, Michael Deacon described the Yumburger as "a slim, floppy, somewhat damp hamburger slathered with a strangely sweet mayo" in his three-star review of a Jollibee location in London.

## Ownership and management[edit source]

Jollibee, the fast food chain brand is owned by the Jollibee Foods Corporation which is based in Pasig, Philippines. JFC has been open to franchising since 1979 with over 1000 Jollibee outlets being operated by franchisees. JFC also owns other fast food brands in the Philippines such as Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, Mang Inasal, and Burger King Philippines.

## Branch locations

Main article: List of countries with Jollibee outlets

Jollibee started with five branches in 1978. The JFC has Jollibee branches outside the Philippines in locations in other countries in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, the Middle East, North America, and Italy.

As of May 2019, Jollibee operates over 1,300 stores, 1,150 of which are in the Philippines, its country of origin, and 234 are situated in foreign markets.

Jollibee's first outlet in North America opened in the United States in Daly City, California on June 13, 1998.

They expanded to Canada and have two locations in Winnipeg, one in Toronto, one in Mississauga, and one in Edmonton, with plans to open 100 Canadian stores by 2023.

Jollibee first entered the European market in 2018 with the opening of a branch in Milan, Italy. London, United Kingdom became the second location in Europe when it opened on October 20, 2018.

They also had branches in Taiwan, and Mainland China. The first branch in Taiwan, opened in 1986, was the first branch overseas. Jollibee launched its first branch in Dubai in 1995 but it was later closed. Due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the chain was forced to withdraw its operation in Malaysia and Indonesia. After a 21-year absence, Jollibee returned its operation in Malaysia after the commencement of its Kota Kinabalu outlet in December 2018. In 2013, they opened their first branch in Singapore, and have since opened five branches.

With at least a branch in Guam, it also had a larger presence in Oceania. It had branches in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands and in Papua New Guinea.

Plans to enter the Australia and Japan markets were also entertained by the company.

## Marketing and advertising[edit source]

### Customer base[edit source]

Outside the Philippines, Jollibee's primary customers are different per country or region. In the Middle East, Jollibee's primary market are the Overseas Filipino Workers while in Vietnam it is the local population. Vietnam has more than a hundred outlets in 2019, or majority of its outlets outside the Philippines.

### Mascots[edit source]

Jollibee, a large anthropomorphic bee mascot dressed in a blazer, shirt, and chef's hat, was introduced by the brand in 1980. During the mascot's conception, Mickey Mouse of Disney was made as the benchmark for Jollibee's design.

The mascot Jollibee was designed to epitomize Filipino optimism. Tony Tan, chairman and founder has compared the mascot's character to the Filipino working folk reasoning that the bee "hops around and produces sweet things for life, and is happy even though it is busy".

Other mascots were also made for the Jollibee fastfood chain, with many of them featured in *Jollitown*, a children's show aired in the Philippines.
Jollibee statue at the main entrance of a Jollibee store in Trece Martires, Cavite

### Mass media

#### Television series[edit source]

Main article: Jollitown

On April 13, 2008, a children's television program called *Jollitown* was launched. The timing was chosen to highlight Jollibee's 30th anniversary. Jollibee and his friends: Yum the scientist, Twirlie the star performer, Hetty the cheerleader and Popo the gym coach were the stars of the show, which aired Sundays, 9:30 a.m. or 8:00 on GMA Network. On July 17, 2011, *Jollitown* moved to ABS-CBN for its fourth and fifth season, airing Sundays at 9 am. On July 20, 2013, the show moved back to GMA Network for *The Jollitown Kids Show* or *Jollitown* Season 6 until it ended on October 12, having run for almost five years.

#### Web advertising[edit source]

In November 2018, the 23 original Kwentong Jollibee videos on its YouTube channel reached a total of 64 million views. After nearly two years the total views had risen to 405 million, with 567k subscribers, in July 2020.