Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. has formed a joint venture with Panda Restaurant Group Inc., America’s largest family-owned and -operated Chinese American restaurant concept, to bring the Panda Express chain of restaurants to the Philippines.
Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the 50:50 ownership split, with a starting capital of $5 million, would initially develop five Panda Express restaurants in Metro Manila.
“We feel fortunate to be partnering with a company that has a history of growing and adding significant value to its new businesses,” said Andrew Cherng, co-founder and co-chief executive of Panda Express, said.
“We look forward to tapping into JFC’s market expertise to grow the Panda Express brand into a household name in the Philippines and, more importantly, actioning our shared value of inspiring people to better their lives.”
Jollbee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said Panda Express was “very much in line with JFC brand portfolio.”
“We are thrilled about this relationship between Panda and JFC. Starting from a single restaurant in a California mall to becoming a restaurant chain of over 2,100 stores, Panda Express is a strong brand with a growing global footprint. Very much in line with JFC’s brand portfolio, it has excellent tasting dishes at reasonable price points,” Tan Caktiong said.
“Long-term, Panda Express has a high potential for broad acceptance across the country,” he added.
The joint venture company will have its own management team ith Jollibee providing support.
Jollibee operates the largest food service network in the Philippines, with 2,988 domestic restaurant outlets and 1,336 stores overseas.
It also has a 48-percent interest in joint venture 12 Hotpot (China) with 16 stores and an 85-percent stake in Smashburger with 374 outlets, mostly in the United States.
Panda Express, America’s favorite Chinese kitchen, is best known for its wide variety of original recipes, including its Original Orange Chicken™, SweetFire Chicken Breast®, award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp™ and Shanghai Angus Steak™.
Founded in 1983, Panda Express has presence in over 2,100 locations throughout the US, Puerto Rico, Guam, Guatemala, El Salvador, Aruba, Canada, Mexico, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Japan and Russia.