Jollibee to expand in new US locations

MANILA, Philippines — Homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) targets to set foot in new locations across the US as the company ramps up franchising to support its global expansion.

“We are actually in the process of screening our franchisee partners for several states, not only in existing states where we would open more stores for franchising, but also new states,” JFC CFO Richard Shin said.

Jollibee opened early this year its first branch in Detroit, Michigan, which is officially the 14th US state that the company has reached since it started its aggressive expansion effort in the region.

“In the US, we’re just so tiny compared to the demand and the opportunity that we see in those. So we’ve just entered our 14th state, which is to say we have many more places to go,” Shin said.

“So a market like the US can accelerate and grow pretty quickly,” he said.

JFC intends to rapidly expand its global footprint through franchising.

“If you look at North America, what we’re seeing is in 2025 onwards, predominantly meaning more than 80 percent of all new stores should be through the franchise model. And that’s how we’re planning out and that’s the work that the team is leaning toward,” Shin said.

In the Philippines, however, he said the mix is not going to change that dramatically in terms of franchising.

“So it’s already running on two thirds franchised in the Philippines. Certain brands are already 98 percent franchised like Mang Inasal which is one of our champion brands,” Shin said.

Jollibee’s recent opening in Canada, the brand’s 100th store in North America, forms part of the group’s aggressive expansion plan.

For this year, JFC plans to open up to 750 owned and franchised stores and expects capital expenditures to be in the range of P20 billion to P23 billion.

JFC ended 2023 with a store network of 6,885 stores worldwide - 3,339 in the Philippines and 3,546 overseas.

It operates 567 stores in China, 389 in North America, 337 in EMEA, 779 with Highlands Coffee mainly in Vietnam, 1,164 with CBTL and 310 with Milksha.

Its largest brands by store outlets worldwide are Jollibee with 1,660; CBTL 1,164; Highlands Coffee 779; Chowking 613; and Mang Inasal 573.