Jollibee North America to start franchising in 2023

NEW YORK – Jollibee Foods Corp. in North America will start opening its doors for franchising by 2023.

Maribeth dela Cruz, Jollibee Group’s president for Philippine Brands (Jollibee, Chowking, and Red Ribbon) in North America, said the move is part of the company’s growth plan.

The group aims to have 500 Jollibee stores in North America in the next five to seven years, Dela Cruz said in a recent interview.

“We are already in the process of franchising,” she said.

Opening the business for franchise will help the company expand as it targets to open more stores in California, Pennsylvania, and Florida in the US and British Columbia in Canada.

JFC is targeting to become one of the top five restaurant companies in the world.

Aside from opening more brick and mortar restaurants, JFC also plans to  strengthen its digital infrastructure.

“We’re building on our digital business channels. We’re putting together digital roadmaps,” Dela Cruz said.

This will enable more consumers to order JFC food products online if there are no branches in close proximity to where they are.

Dela Cruz said this is in response to the new consumer behavior which became more evident during the pandemic as people worked from home and preferred to have food and other basic essentials delivered to their homes.

Last Aug. 18, JFC opened its latest store, Jollibee Times Square at the heart of the city.

The newest outlet is located beside Good Morning America and in the Times Square bow-tie, a most coveted area that is famous for the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.

Times Square is considered one of the top commercial and entertainment hubs in the world.

Dela Cruz said the expansion in Times Square aims to introduce the Jollibee brand to more mainstream American customers.

At present, JFC has 84 locations across North America and over 1,500 restaurants worldwide.

Jollibee is the flagship brand of JFC, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing restaurant companies.

At present, the company operates in 34 countries, with over 6,200 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, US, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Panama, Malaysia, South Korea, India and Australia.