PHILIPPINES

Jollibee: A Taste to Remember

By Carina Cordero Brossy

Matthews, NC, United States

What do burgers, fried chicken, spaghetti, and tuna pies have in common? You can find all of these items and more on the menu of the largest fast-food chain in the Philippines.

How It Bee-gan

Jollibee, with more than 1,660 restaurants located primarily in the South Asian island-nation, has established itself as an iconic and highly profitable food chain. Originally opened as an ice cream parlor in 1975, its founder Tony Tan Cacktiong took on the Philippine’s first McDonald’s in 1981 by creating his own fast-food chain. With a large dose of national pride and a menu for all local and personal tastes, his creation now outsells even global giant McDonald’s. The company’s main spokesperson is the Jolli-bee, a colorful red bee who is now popular enough to have his own Twitter account and a television show called Jollitown.

Creating Buzz

Since its early years, this brand has grown by acquiring other restaurants that specialize in such cuisines as Chinese and traditional American. In 2024, Jollibee Foods’ annual revenue reached PHP 306 billion (Philippine pesos, US$5.2 billion). Philippine call centers and other outsourcing businesses have given consumers more money in their pockets, which they seem to want to spend on tasty dishes like Yumburgers and Chickenjoy.

Like any powerful fast-food chain, this brand reaches well beyond its local origins. Hungry fans can find its signature dishes in 24 countries around the world. The United States has 72 stores with more to come. So, the next time you’re craving a burger with a side of Palabok Fiesta (rice noodles in a garlic-shrimp sauce with crushed pork rinds and hard-boiled egg), you’ll soon need to look no farther than your neighborhood Jollibee.

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Math Resources

Learning Activity:

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division (Grades 4–7)

Sample Problems:

Maria and her family are using Philippine pesos (PHP) to pay for their meal at their neighborhood Jollibee in Manila, Philippines. Maria’s family orders these items:
- one Amazing Aloha Yumburger with drink (PHP 160)
- two Chickenjoys with Palabok (PHP 140 for one)
- one Jolly Spaghetti with fries (PHP 85)
- two regular Coke floats (PHP 30 for one)
What is the total cost of the meal? Using a currency converter website, find the current exchange rate to convert the total cost from PHP to US dollars. How do the costs of these fast-food meals compare to fast-food prices in the US?
Roberto wants to open a new Jollibee franchise in Manila. He projects his annual gross sales will be PHP 1,500,000. However, Roberto will have to subtract these costs:
- food costs of PHP 435,760
- labor costs of PHP 345,660
- rent costs of PHP 228,930
- insurance/general administrative costs of PHP 84,500
What will be Roberto’s net operating income in both PHP and US dollars?
If Roberto wants to increase his net operating income, which expense category might he try to reduce first?

Social Justice Question

Researchers have linked a fast food diet to obesity and other negative health effects. In addition, fast food corporations increase food insecurity by undermining local control of food production. Lower-income neighborhoods tend to have higher concentrations of fast food restaurants. What do you think could be possible solutions to this problem?

Explore Further

Website of Jollibee Foods Corporation
Currency converter
Review of Jollibee’s food
Video overview of Jollibee

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