What Is the Background of the Jollibee Company?
Jollibee Foods is the largest fast food company in the Philippines and one of the largest Asian fast food chains overall. The company started in 1975 as an ice cream parlor in Cubao, Philippines, and grew to sales of 2 million Philippine pesos by 1978. Seven stores operated in the metropolitan Manila area that same year, with the Yumburger as the flagship product.
In 1985, Jollibee became the leading fast food company in the Philippines. A year later, the chain opened its first business in Taiwan, followed by a location in Brunei in 1987. That same year, the company surpassed 570 million pesos in revenue. Five years later, sales rose to more than 3.3 billion pesos.
Jollibee is under ownership by Tony Tan Caktiong, the son of a chef. He stepped down as CEO after nearly 40 years of leadership, but still holds the position of Chairman. Caktiong is worth $2 billion, as his assets include nearly a dozen different restaurant chains in the Philippines. The former CEO built his empire on brand names like Jollibee, Chowking, Burger King and Greenwich Pizza. The current President and CEO of Jollibee is Ernesto Tanmantiong.
Jollibee has more than 2,100 stores over the world. Fast food restaurants account for nearly 122 billion pesos in revenue in the Philippines, which makes up 30 percent of the country’s food service market.
