Jollibee_at_Robinsons_Place_Mall_in_Manila

Jollibee is a Filipino chain of

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

s owned by

Jollibee Foods Corporation Jollibee Foods Corporation (abbreviated as JFC; doing business as, dba Jollibee Group) is a Philippine multinational corporation, multinational company headquartered in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines. JFC is the owner of the fast food brand ...

(JFC) which serves as its flagship brand. Established in 1978 by Tony Tan Caktiong, it is the Philippines' top fast food restaurant and is among the world's fastest growing restaurants, expanding its international presence from 2014 to 2024 almost sixfold. , there were over 1,668 Jollibee fast-food branches across 17 countries, with restaurants in

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(

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

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), the

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, and

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(including

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, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

). Jollibee is best known for its best-selling item, the Chickenjoy.

History

In 1975, Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

ice cream parlor in Cubao,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. The outlet later began offering hot meals and

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es. When the food items became more popular than ice cream, the family decided to convert the ice cream parlor into a

, which became the first Jollibee outlet in 1978. Management consultant Manuel C. Lumba advised the family on the change in strategy. Jollibee was initially named "Jolibe", but changed its name to "Jollibee".

(JFC) was incorporated in January 1978. By the end of that year, there were seven Jollibee branches in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. The first franchised outlet of Jollibee opened in

Santa Cruz, Manila Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the Manila, City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth. It is bordered by the districts of Tondo, Manila, Tondo, Binondo, Manila, Binondo, Quiapo, Ma ...

, in 1979. Jollibee experienced rapid growth. The chain was able to withstand the

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McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

into the Philippines in 1981 by focusing on the specific tastes of the Filipino market. The first provincial Jollibee outlet opened in Mabalacat. The first overseas Jollibee opened in Singapore in 1985 at the Katong Shopping Centre; that location closed only a year later (since returned in 2013). In the same year, Jollibee opened branches in the

and

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. Jollibee continued to expand and set up outlets both within the country and abroad. Jollibee would expand to

with its first United States location in

Daly City, California Daly City () is the second-most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its northern border with almost all of San Francisco's southern ...

. Jollibee first entered Europe in 2018 with the opening of a branch in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy.

Products

Jollibee offers American-influenced fast food items and casual Filipino fare. Among the establishment's best sellers are the Yumburger, the house hamburger first introduced during their early days of operation; the Chickenjoy, a fried chicken meal, introduced in the 1980s, with regular and spicy versions; and Jolly Spaghetti, a sweet Filipino spaghetti that includes a beef sauce with pieces of hot dog and ham. In 1995, Jollibee introduced the Burger Steak to its menu. At its international locations, Jollibee also offers localized products, such as chili chicken in Vietnam and nasi lemak in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. Jollibee serves

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

products in Luzon and Visayas and

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

products in Mindanao and its overseas markets.

Chickenjoy

The Chickenjoy is a crispy fried chicken meal. The meal can be ordered with several sides, including rice and gravy, fries, buttered corn, and spaghetti.

Yumburger

The Yumburger (also spelled as Yum Burger, or Yum!), one of the first products sold by Jollibee, is a hamburger containing a beef patty topped with mayonnaise. In ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 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. In 2017, Jollibee introduced the Aloha Yumburger. That same year, an advertising video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

about the Yumburger went viral in the Philippines. A 2019 Yumburger commercial about love on

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

was the subject of

memes A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...

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

Ownership and management

Jollibee is owned by the

, which is based in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. JFC has operated as a franchisor since 1979. JFC also owns other fast food brands in the Philippines, including Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, and Mang Inasal, and it operates

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

franchises.

Branch locations

, Jollibee operated over 1,300 stores, with 1,150 in the Philippines and 234 in foreign markets. Jollibee has locations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, North America, Europe, and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. Outside of the Philippines,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and the United States are the biggest markets for Jollibee; with 200 outlets in the former as of 2024 and 100 outlets in North America (plus Canada) as of 2024. Countries and territories with previous presence of Jollibee outlets include

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, mainland

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

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and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Marketing and advertising

Customer base

Outside of the Philippines, Jollibee's customer base varies by region. In the Middle East, Jollibee's primary market are overseas Filipino workers, while in Vietnam it is the local population. Vietnam has the most franchises outside of the Philippines, with over 100 locations.

Mascots

Introduced in 1980, Jollibee is a large anthropomorphic bee mascot dressed in a red blazer, shirt, and chef's hat. Jollibee's design is based on

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

. The mascot was designed to epitomize Filipino optimism. Tony Tan, Jollibee's founder, has compared the mascot's character to the Filipino working class, stating that the bee "hops around and produces sweet things for life, and is happy even though it is busy". Jollibee developed additional mascots, some of which were featured in '' Jollitown'', a children's show aired in the Philippines.

Mass media

Television series

On April 13, 2008, Jollibee premiered ''Jollitown'', a children's television show. The premiere was timed to coincide with Jollibee's 30th anniversary. The show featured several characters, including Jollibee, Yum the scientist, Twirlie the star performer, Hetty the cheerleader, and Popo the gym coach. The show aired Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

. On July 17, 2011, ''Jollitown'' moved to

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

for its fourth and fifth seasons, airing Sundays at 9:00 a.m. On July 20, 2013, the show moved back to

for its sixth season until it ended on October 12.

Web advertising

In November 2018, the 23 original ''Kwentong Jollibee'' videos on its

channel reached a total of 64 million views. After nearly two years the total views had risen to 405 million, with 567,000 subscribers, in July 2020.

Notes

References

External links

*
Jollibee USA
* {{Authority control Fast-food hamburger restaurants Fast-food chains of the Philippines Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food chains of Canada Regional restaurant chains in the United States Regional restaurant chains in Canada Restaurants established in 1978 1978 establishments in the Philippines Philippine brands Bees in popular culture Restaurants in Manitoba