From Humble Beginnings to Global Success: A Flavorful Journey of Jollibee Foods Corporation

From a small ice cream parlor to a global fast food brand, Jollibee's story is an inspiring one of business, tenacity, and a dedication to spreading happiness through delicious food.

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) was founded in 1975 by Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong. With the help of his wife Grace, his family, and in-laws, they started everything with a small family business selling ice cream in the streets of Manila. Three years after starting, the family saw the opportunity for hot meals. They converted the ice cream parlors into the Jollibee brand we know today.
 
Tony always saw the huge potential for his business and dreamt big. He put faith in hard work, passion, and focus, to turn his then-small business into one of the biggest companies in the Philippines, Asia and now, the world.
 
Today, that dream has brought us from a single brand into a restaurant group with 19 well-loved brands and over 9,700 stores in 32 countries. Through JFC's mission of bringing the joy of eating to everyone, JFC aims and continues to work to become one of the top five restaurant companies in the world.
 
JFC's milestone from past to present:
 
1975

• Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, together with his wife Grace, his family, and in-laws, start an ice cream business in Manila, Philippines

 
1978

• Jollibee Foods Corporation (Jollibee Group) is officially born.

 
1987

• Jollibee Group makes it to the Philippines’ Top 100 Corporations

 
1993

• Jollibee Group lists its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange, with an initial offering of P9 per share. Jollibee Group is cited as one of the leading companies in Asia by the Far Eastern Economic Review.

 
1994

• Jollibee Group acquires Greenwich Pizza Corporation

 
2000

• Jollibee Group acquires Chowking

 
2002

• Jollibee Group Chairman and CEO, Dr. Tony Tan Cacktiong, is named Management Man of the Year by the Management Association of the Philippines.

 
2003

• For the sixth straight year, Jollibee Group is named as the Philippines’ Leading Company by the Far Eastern Economic Review.

 
2004

• Jollibee Group acquires its first international brand Yonghe King, a restaurant chain in China. Same year, Jollibee Group establishes the Jollibee Group Foundation.
•  Jollibee Group Chairman and CEO, Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, is named the 2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.
•  Jollibee Group opens Zenith Foods Corporation, the largest commissary in Asia, with an initial investment of P1.5 Billion.

 
2005

• Jollibee Group acquires Red Ribbon Bakeshop.

 
2006

• Jollibee Group establishes Jollibee Worldwide Services. Also, Jollibee Group is chosen as the Most Admired Company in the Philippines by the Asian Wall Street Journal.

 
2008

• Jollibee Group completes its purchase of Hong Zhuang Yuan, a chain of congee restaurants located mostly in Beijing.

 
2010

• Jollibee Group acquires 70% of Mang Inasal.

 
2011

• Jollibee Group acquires a majority stake in the Burger King Philippines franchise. Jollibee Group builds the Jollibee Foods Processing Commissary in China.

 
2012

• Jollibee Group completes its acquisition of SuperFoods Group, which owns and operates Highlands Coffee. Jollibee Group is cited as Most Admired ASEAN Enterprise by the ASEAN Business Advisory.

 
2013

• Jollibee Foundation is renamed Jollibee Group Foundation. Jollibee Group breaks into Forbes Asia’s Fab 50, Asia-Pacific’s Best 50 Big Listed Companies. Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Group’s Chairman & CEO, is named Global Filipino Executive of the Year at the Asia CEO Awards

 
2014

• Ernesto Tanmantiong assumes the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Jollibee Foods Corporation. Jollibee Group and Ateneo team up to establish JFC University.

 
2015

• Jollibee Group acquires 40% of US-based Smashburger. Jollibee Group Chairman, Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, is awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards.

 
2016

• Jollibee Group acquires the remaining 30% stake in Mang Inasal, making it the 100% owner of the brand. Jollibee Group completes the transfer of assets in Happy Bee Foods Processing Pte. Ltd. (Happy Bee), making Jollibee Group the 100% owner of Happy Bee Foods Processing in Anhui Province in China.

 
2017

• Cargill and Jollibee officially inaugurate the Cargill Joy Poultry Meats Production plant. The plant has a processing capacity of 45 million chickens per year. Jollibee Group increases its ownership interest in the SuperFoods Group to 60%. SuperFoods Group is the holding company of Highlands Coffee.

 
2018

• Jollibee Group enters into a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless to build a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.
•  Jollibee Group discloses plans to invest up to 45 million Singapore Dollars in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that has executed (through a wholly-owned subsidiary) a binding agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the Asia Pacific master franchise holder of Tim Ho Wan brand, Tim Ho Wan Pte. Ltd. and its affiliate Dim Sum Pte. Ltd.
• Jollibee Group increases ownership in Smashburger to 85%
• Jollibee Group announces the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. to bring Panda Express restaurants to the Philippines.
• Jollibee Group wins the ASEAN Business Award for Priority Integration Sector — Food & Beverage.
• Jollibee Group wins AGROW Award for Inclusive Business.

 
2019

• Jollibee Group acquires the remaining 15% stake in Smashburger, making it the sole owner of the Smashburger business.
• Jollibee Group acquires The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (c), its largest and most multi-national acquisition to date.

 
2020

• The Gallup Organization awards Jollibee Group with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the first-ever Philippine-based corporation to receive such distinction.
• USD 600 Million in Guaranteed Senior Perpetual Capital Securities is issued by JWPL, a Jollibee Group subsidiary, and is listed in the Singaporean Securities Trading Ltd.
• Amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jollibee Group allocates PHP 1 Billion as an emergency fund for employees and donates P240 Million in aid to frontlines and affected families.
• Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong is named as one of the A100 Most Impactful Asians.
• Jollibee Group embarks on a Business Transformation aimed at adapting to changing consumer habits, accelerating profit recovery, and emerging stronger from the pandamic.
• Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong is named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Asia Leaders Awards.
• Jollibee Group is one of only three Philippine-based companies awarded on Forbes’ List of World’s Best Employers.

 
2021

• Jollibee Group announces that it will establish a 50/50 joint venture to expand Yoshinoya, one of the largest and most recognized Japanese restaurant brands globally, in the Philippines.
• Jollibee Group announces a licensing agreement with Milkshop International Co. Ltd, a popular Taiwanese Bubble Tea Brand, to bring the Milksha Brand to the Philippines.
• Jollibee Group discloses that it will buy the shares of the remaining partners in the fund that owns the Tim Ho Wan Brand – increasing its interest from 85% to 100%
• Jollibee Group lists its first-ever preferred shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange – a first for the Jollibee Group and the Philippine Food Service Industry.
• Jollibee Group is cited in Forbes’ List of World’s Best Employers for the second consecutive year.
• Jollibee Group announces that it will purchase a majority stake in Milksha, a popular Taiwanese tea brand.
• Jollibee Group signs franchise agreement for Yoshinoya in the Philippines.
• Jollibee Group increases Commitment to Fund Owning Tim Ho Wan from SGD 200M to SGD 225M, comprising 90% of the total fund.
• Jollibee Group is cited by Forbes as among World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies, the only Philippine Company in the list.
• Jollibee Group wins the 2021 ASEAN Business Award for Priority Integration Sector: Food and Beverage.
• Esquire Philippines honors Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong as Businessman of the Year.

 
2022

• Jollibee Group is recognized by the Asia Pacific Tambuli Awards 2022 for promoting inclusive growth through its Farmer Entrepreneurship Program.
• Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong is named the 2022 Ramon V. Del Rosario Awardee for Nation-Building.
• Jollibee Group named among the World’s Best Employers by Forbes for 3rd straight year.
• Jollibee Group launches its Sustainability Agenda “Joy for Tomorrow”.

 
2023

• Jollibee Group celebrates its 45th Anniversary with the theme #JoyfulTogether.
• Jollibee Group Receives Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for the Second Time.
• Jollibee Group wins multiple citations at the 13th Institutional Investor Corporate Awards.
• Jollibee Group named among the World’s Best Companies 2023 by TIME Magazine.
• Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong awarded ‘Management Person of the Year 2023’ by Management Association of the Philippines.

 
2024
 

• Jollibee was recognized as the second fastest-growing restaurant brand in the world by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation agency.
• Jollibee Group Receives Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for the Third Time.
• Jollibee Group Receives 3G Championship Award for Community Development and Philanthropy 2024.
• Jollibee Group Makes it to the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 List.