The secret of Tony Tan Caktiong's success: ‘Bee happy!’

When fast-food mogul Tony Tan Caktiong was starting out in the food business, he was fascinated by Walt Disney cartoon characters. Thus, when he was looking for a name and a mascot for his first ever hamburger store, he scanned his trove of Walt Disney memories and looked for a character that embodied his philosophy in life: One who spread happiness but was very productive, as "busy as a bee."

Aha! Into Tony’s radar screen flew the image of a bee, a supporting, though often unnamed, character in Disney movies.

"The bee hops around, very busy, producing honey. This represents life’s sweet things. Because even if you’re busy, you have to be very happy. You have to be jolly. Because if you’re not happy, being busy is not worth it," smiles Tan Caktiong, 51, the only business tycoon I had ever met whose eyes twinkle when he smiles. ("They say I look like the Jollibee mascot!" he jokes.)

Thus was born, "Jollibee" and the secret formula that was to guide Tan Caktiong into transforming a two-branch mom-and-pop ice cream parlor (with branches in Cubao and Quiapo) into the country’s leading fast-food chain: "Be busy, but most important, be happy."

It is a simple philosophy that has guided Tan Caktiong’s life, and his ever-growing business (467 Jollibee stores in the Philippines and 30 abroad). After graduating from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1975 with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Tan Caktiong set up the Cubao Ice Cream House in the Coronet Theater and the Quiapo Ice Cream House with money lent by his parents. He was newly married to Grace, and needed a business in order to start a family.

Because he was in the store everyday, he noticed that Filipinos are not satisfied with just ice cream when they venture out to eat. "They were always looking for sandwiches!" recalls Tony. So the ice cream parlor started serving sandwiches.

We are in his office in the Jollibee Plaza at the Ortigas Center for this one-on-one interview and photo shoot with The STAR and PEOPLE Asia magazine.Like Tony Tan Caktiong, the office is bright, simple and uncluttered. It looks like a happy place and why not – Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) posted a net income of P383 million in the first three months of the year, an increase of 41.6 percent from the year ago level!

The first hamburger served by the Cubao store, christened "Jollibee" in 1978, came from his sister’s recipe. From her also came the recipe of the palabok fiesta. "My role was purely that of taster!" says Tan Caktiong.

Just as he realized he was not a cook, Tan Caktiong also realized very early on in the business that he had to rely on more than just the members of his family, supportive though they were, to build the business. "Early on, we organized the structure by hiring professionals. We realized that in terms of marketing, finance, human resources, we did not have the skill. So as early as then, we started delegating. We had a vision, we wanted to be big, we were driven!"

So that meant being less parochial, although he admits that a typical Chinese-Filipino family tends to keep management positions within the clan. The decision paid off for Tan Caktiong, a father of three who unwinds by regularly playing tennis and taking pictures of beautiful landscapes with his state-of-the art Canon camera.

In 1984, six years after Jollibee took flight, the company soared. It reached the P500-million sales mark, giving it a perch in the list of the Philippines’ Top 500 Corporations. In 1987, barely 10 years after it got its wings, Jollibee made it to the Philippines’ Top 100 Corporations. It then became the first Philippine fast-food chain to break the P1-billion sales mark in 1989. In 1994, it acquired Greenwich Pizza, and a year later, the franchise of Delifrance, an international food company. In 2000, Jollibee acquired Chow King, which allowed it to have leadership in the Oriental quick-service restaurant segment. Today, there are a total of 995 Jollibee, Greenwich, Chowking and Delifrance stores nationwide! Recently, JFC also acquired the Yong He food chain in Mainland China.

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Tony Tan Caktiong is jolly with his success, but just like his mascot, he intends to continue being busy. After establishing a stronghold in some parts of the United States, Hong Kong, Brunei and Vietnam, Jollibee is set to be a presence in mainland China, India and Indonesia.

Last May, Tan Caktiong bested 31 others businessmen from all over the world to win the prestigious World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) award 2004 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Humbled by the award, Tan Caktiong refuses to beat his breast and gloat.

"I seldom look back at awards," Tan Caktiong says, smiling his trademark jolly smile (he has a host of awards and recognitions in addition to the WEOY). "I look forward instead to what I still want to do. When I look back, I try to see what I can learn from the award."

At the end of the day, what really makes Tony Tan Caktiong happy is seeing the honey spread around – from the millions who eat at Jollibee to the over 21,000 employees in the JFC group.

Whether he’s chasing a tennis ball, pressing the shutter on a beautiful landscape or checking on the JFC balance sheet, Tony Tan Caktiong makes sure that the effort is worth it.

"I always ask myself, if I do this, will I be happy? Otherwise, it won’t be worth it," his eyes twinkle yet again.

Glory bee!