Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest Asian restaurant company in the world, aims to continue expanding locally and globally even as it celebrated a vibrant first semester with more stores.
“Through the expansion of our brands, we get to share great tasting food and service to our customers. We are excited to further spread the joy of eating not only in the Philippines, but also to the world,” JFC chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a statement.
Following the success of Jollibee’s rapid expansion to eight stores in Hong Kong, Jollibee opened its first store in Macau, serving a taste of home for the nearly 40,000 OFWs residing in Macau.
Jollibee also opened its first store in Europe in March 2018 at the historic Piazza Diaz in Milan, Italy. The brand also plans to further expand in the continent, with the first store in the United Kingdom opening within a year.
It also celebrated its 100th store in Vietnam, opening in the city of Can Tho. The store opened to hundreds of Vietnamese locals lining up to get a taste of their Jollibee favorites.
Jollibee is now the third largest quick service restaurant brand in Vietnam, and it plans to open 20 more stores in the country this year.
This year also marked Jollibee’s 200th store in the Middle East and Asia combined region, with the Jalan Muara store opening in Brunei.
Jollibee further plans to enter new markets – particularly Indonesia and Malaysia – in the near future.
In the North America region, Jollibee also opened its first store in Toronto, Canada, and targets to reach 100 stores in the country within the next five years.
In the Philippines, Mang Inasal, which was fully acquired by JFC in 2016, opened its 500th store in Mandurriao, Iloilo.
Red Ribbon — another prominent JFC brand acquired in 2005 and one of the country’s top bakeshop chains — also opened its 400th store in the vicinity of Manaoag, Pangasinan.
“These milestones show the capability of the Filipino to compete in the global stage. This is made all the more special as we celebrate our 40th anniversary this year – proving that we are indeed spreading the joy of eating across the globe,” said Tanmantiong.
Moreover, other brands under the company’s expansion agenda include Chowking, Greenwich Pizza, Burger King Philippines, Chinese chains Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan, Dunkin Donuts China, Vietnamese brands PHO24 and Highlands Coffee, and recently consolidated US-based chain Smashburger.
JFC operates a total of over 4,200 stores in 21 countries across the globe.
