The Philippine fast food Jollibee is the 24th largest fast food chain globally (coffee chains included), by number of branches, and the fifth among companies not from the U.S. It boasts 1,150 outlets in its home country and some 234 overseas outlets in 15 territories. It also has the bigger share of the Philippine market, even with its two biggest competitors combined. But like every business empire, Jollibee had its humble beginnings. So, how did this fast food start?
This food and beverage empire was born in 1975 – and at the time served only ice cream. It was the brainchild of company founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong (generally referred to by his staff as Sir Tony in a sign of respect), the third child of seven in an impoverished family who moved to the Philippines from Fujian province in China. His father opened a small Buddhist restaurant in the southern Philippine city of Davao when Tan was a child.
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People started asking for hot food, so he began providing hamburgers and sandwiches, and soon they were more popular than the ice cream. Neither of the original branches is still operating – but several of the original employees still work for the company.
The Jollibee name was introduced in 1978, first as Jolibe; it was changed to the current spelling so that it could be more easily associated with the words “jolly” and “bee” – and so that, thanks to the non-standard spelling, it could be easily trademarked.
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In its early years Jollibee faced perhaps the biggest challenge in its corporate history: both McDonald’s and KFC entered the Philippine market in the early 1980s. Instead of having their usual effect of sweeping aside local competition, in Jollibee they found a competitor more attuned to the local market, and one with a particularly determined founder.
Learn more about the story of this fast food chain over at the South China Morning Post.
(Image Credit: Jansen Romero)
(Image Credit: Jollibee)