The North America division of Filipino quick-service chain Jollibee is growing quickly after launching a franchising program last March and recently announcing plans to spin off its international division and debut on the U.S. stock exchange. 

Since debuting in America over 25 years ago, Jollibee has grown to 107 locations in the United States, with plans to expand to 500 stateside units by 2030. The first step of this ambitious growth plan began last August with the opening of the company’s first U.S. franchised location in Queens, New York. 

“I’ve found that people have either never heard of Jollibee, or they absolutely love it,” Peter Wright, vice president of franchising for Jollibee U.S. said. “Early on, we focused particularly on growing in Filipino communities in North America, but we've been expanding beyond that base, and we're seeing a larger percentage of the general population coming in. … There’s already a lot of demand and awareness —  We just need to continue to grow our network.”

Moving forward, Jollibee is looking to expand through a mix of franchise growth and company-owned stores, prioritizing the New York tristate area first, as well as Florida, Texas, and the West Coast, particularly in areas where Jollibee already has a footprint.

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When launching its first franchising program in the United States, Jollibee already had fully mature operations and support systems in place. The company is working to create buzz around franchising opportunities and franchise support by setting up a franchise portal and hiring franchise business consultants to support everyday franchise operations.

“Our [long-term growth plan] starts with being very selective on who we award franchise development rights to,” Wright said. “We want to make sure that we're bringing in people that are not only aligned with our corporate values, but have a very strong focus on operational excellence, and can build great teams in great locations.”

Specifically, Jollibee is looking to recruit franchisees who already have experience in the QSR chicken category and are looking to grow their portfolio in a complementary fashion. 

Quality franchise operations, combined with brand awareness, especially through social media, is the formula for continued growth in North America. 

“With so many people from Southeast Asia traveling globally, that's also sparked a lot of awareness of the brand,” Wright said. “Whenever we have social media posts, whether it's about our collaboration with Katseye last year or other kinds of social media posts, so many of the comments are from people saying, ‘When are you bringing Jollibee to my town?’”

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