Jollibee

From ice cream to burgers

Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened an ice cream parlour in Quezon City in 1975. Customers wanted hot food too, so they added sandwiches and burgers, which soon outsold the ice cream. In 1978 the business became Jollibee, named after a happy, hard-working bee.

Tastes built for Filipino families

Jollibee designed its menu around local tastes. Chickenjoy is crispy fried chicken often served with rice and gravy. Jolly Spaghetti has a sweet tomato sauce with sliced hot dogs and cheese, inspired by Filipino party spaghetti. The Peach Mango Pie, made with Philippine mangoes, is a favourite dessert.

Beating the global chains at home

Jollibee became the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, outselling international giants there, which is unusual in fast food. Jollibee Foods Corporation also owns or holds stakes in several other brands in Asia and North America.

A taste of home abroad

Jollibee restaurants in North America, the Middle East and Europe are popular with the Filipino diaspora, and openings often draw long lines. For many Filipino families abroad, a Chickenjoy bucket is a taste of home and a celebration meal.

Jollibee also shows how a local brand can succeed by understanding its own customers better than global giants. Its menu and family-party focus are often studied in business schools as an example of local adaptation.

Menu guide

A classic Jollibee order is a Chickenjoy bucket with rice and gravy, Jolly Spaghetti on the side and a Peach Mango Pie for dessert. The Yumburger is the chain's original burger, with a slightly sweet sauce, and the Jolly Hotdog comes topped with cheese. Many locations also offer palabok, a rice noodle dish with a garlicky shrimp sauce, and a sweet halo-halo dessert in some countries.

Did you know? Jollibee's bee mascot represents hard work and happiness, and appears at children's parties held in its restaurants, a big tradition in the Philippines. Birthday parties at Jollibee are so popular that many restaurants have dedicated party rooms.

For Filipino families abroad, opening days often draw lines that last hours, a sign of how closely the brand is linked to home.

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