The Jollibee Legacy
When it comes to fast food chains here in the Philippines, Jollibee Food Corporation is among the best that can satiate every Filipino’s hunger for American and Filipino cuisine. Jollibee Food Corporation is an American-style fast food restaurant with Filipino-influenced dishes specializing in chicken, burgers, spaghetti, and some local Filipino dishes.
Today, Jollibee Food Corporation is currently the largest fast food restaurant in the Philippines. Jollibee Food Corporation also extends its popularity to larger countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Dubai, and Brunei.
As of December 2007, Jollibee has become one of the world’s largest fast food chains with 1,635 stores worldwide and total sales of over $1 billion. As of February 2008, Jollibee Food Corporation has 1,385 stores in the Philippines, namely Jollibee which has 625 stores, Chowking which has 376 stores, Greenwich Pizza which has 237 stores, Red Ribbon Bakeshop which has 192 stores, Délifrance which has 27 stores and Tio Pepe who has 2 stores. It had 186 stores abroad.
This all happened around the time we first ate at a nearby Jollibee outlet. But have you ever wondered where all this success started? Well, here’s a little trip down memory lane from a man who never knew his business would grow into the largest fast food chain of all time, Jollibee Food Corporation.
Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia ice cream parlor in Cubao in 1975 with Jolibe as the original name. Sometime in 1978, Tony Tan Caktiong and his brothers and sisters, being partners, retained the services of a management consultant in the person of Manuel C. Lumba. Lumba, now a personal consultant for Caktiong, shifted business focus from ice cream to hamburgers, after his research showed there was a much larger market waiting to be tapped.
Lumba then reformed the name Jolibe to Jolly Bee and made the two words into a single Jollibee name, but changed the “y” to an “i”. Lumba then created the product name “Yumburger” as well as the name “Chickenjoy”. .
Lumba also formulated a long-term marketing strategy, listing a series of consumer promotions and traffic-building schemes. Tony Tan emphasized that building internal strengths was essential. Stores were redesigned, service was transformed into a self-service fast food operation complete with drive thrus.
Not long after, Tony Tan and Manny Lumba went on a spotting tour of the United States, attending food service and team conventions. Tony Tan placed Manny Lumba in charge of the franchise’s development. Thus creating the Jollibee Food Corporation.
