Jollibee is a multinational Philippine fast-food restaurant chain owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). On a cold day in New York City, a few steps from Times Square, a line of people formed; they are neatly grouped by a rope in front of an unpretentious building nestled among the city's many skyscrapers. A man stands guard by the door, asking people how many people are in his group and marking the beginning of only a few at a time. A big part of Jollibee's secret sauce is its menu, which is eclectic by American fast-food standards.
Offerings vary by location, but there are fan favorites. Some say that Chickenjoy is even better than Kentucky Fried Chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken Did Not Reply to CNBC Make It Request for Comment. Fans love menu items like Fiesta Noodles (a recreation of the pancit palabok, a noodle dish with ingredients such as shrimp, minced meat and hard-boiled eggs); Breakfast Joy Corned Beef (served with garlic rice and a fried egg); and for dessert, Philippine peach and mango pie or Halo-Halo (a mix of crushed ice, ube and jackfruit ice cream, milk flan and jellies).
Prices are similar to other fast foods, and Jollibee has stores in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington State. Its overall strategy in the United States is to open in areas with denser Filipino American populations, to give them a familiar feel of home. In the Philippines, most kids have Jollibee birthday parties; they don't have McDonald's birthday parties. It's funny because fried chicken is traditionally not Filipino food, but somehow Chickenjoy is - which is a little weird and surprising.
She took her coworkers to her first experience with Jollibee. And Jollibee has been encouraged by the reception in Manhattan, where there isn't really a particularly large Filipino population. Felix, an 18-year-old from Hoboken, New Jersey, is in Midtown Jollibee eating Chickenjoy for the first time. McDonald's Did Not Immediately Return CNBC Make It Request For Comment.
Worship of Jollibee is also on fire on Instagram, with more than half a million posts dedicated to the fast-food establishment. If there is one thing that Filipinos love and enjoy with all their heart, it is the fast food chain that uses a bee in a costume for their pet. Jollibee is known as a favorite of the public, loved by children and adults alike. They have been serving for so long that most of the country had had Jollibee since they were children.
Today they have a chain in almost every part of the Philippines, stretching even across countries that capture more than just the hearts of Filipinos with the unique flavor of their special fried chicken - the Chicken Joy. The fast food chain continues to live up to its motto of sharing joy with its consumers both through the small acts of happiness they give to bring people together and the classic flavors they have been making a reality since the beginning. During 1978 Tony Tan Caktiong - the man who owns this nationally known and world-wide franchise - had decided to dedicate himself to a different chapter in his life at the time he entered the business world despite being a chemical engineer. He had worked in an ice cream shop at the beginning where he wanted to provide customers with something more to expect than just sweets.
He offered people who came and went different sandwiches and sandwiches to fill them. Surprisingly it sold much more than ice cream was sold. With that there was a spark in him that pushed him to build a fast food place made to satisfy the Philippine palette - Jollibee was born - and she continually attracted people with the menu they offered. Over time it became such a popular option that it competed with one of the largest fast-food chains in the United States - McDonald's.
Now Jollibee is in more than a thousand places around the world with plans to expand its empire in the U. S. UU. Reach triple digits in the next five years.
The main feature of Jollibee is the way its food menu focuses on its audience's palette. It was originally made to satisfy Filipino flavor providing spaghetti with tomato and banana sauce with hot dogs and fried rice with garlic to take with breakfast meals. The little details they put in their meals make it so meaningful and delicious for Filipino people because of how it represents simple tastes of natives. With this goal in mind Jollibee spread across different countries changing its menu in small ways to meet palette of those on site.
While there are no major changes in flavors they offer their goal is to ensure it suits tastes of inhabitants of area - for example Jollibee UAE offers customers option of eating with biryani rice which is well-known local delicacy. This is what makes people attracted to them - Jollibee while maintaining tastes focused on Filipinos shows variety of unique forms that most fast-food chains have not been able to incorporate same way. In nutshell Jollibee's menu is more like wide selection of flavors to find what suits you best rather than generalized taste that suits everyone's palette. Their menu alone is enough to make people want more but this isn't only thing that keeps them on top - another distinctive feature of Jollibee is its mascot; yellow and red bee with small tuxedo suit and chef's hat - it can be hard to imagine if you first saw this pet without knowing what Jollibee was you might find it strange however this bee means lot more to other people than you think - Jollibee has become symbol of childhood; it was where Filipinos spent Sunday morning breakfasts and birthday parties - bee not only reflection of company but also reflection of culture that surrounds it.
