History and Milestones
Our Jollibee Group 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 18 well-loved brands and over 6,900 stores in 33 countries. Through our mission of bringing the joy of eating to everyone, we aim and continue to work to become one of the top five restaurant companies in the world.
Recently, the Jollibee Group signed agreements to own 10% ownership in Botrista, a leader in the beverage technology space. The Company also owns a 90% participating interest in Titan Dining Partners II Ltd to further grow Asia Pacific food service brands and/or bring strong global food service brands to Asia Pacific.
Swipe through the years to see our 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 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 PHP 9/share
1993
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
2004
Jollibee Group establishes the Jollibee Group Foundation
2004
Jollibee Group Chairman and CEO, Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, is named the 2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young
2004
Jollibee Group opens Zenith Foods Corporation, the largest commissary in Asia, with an initial investment of PHP 1.5 Billion
2005
Jollibee Group acquires Red Ribbon Bakeshop
2006
Jollibee Group establishes Jollibee Worldwide Services
2006
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
2011
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
2012
Jollibee Group is cited as Most Admired ASEAN Enterprise by the ASEAN Business Advisory.
2013
Jollibee Foundation is renamed Jollibee Group Foundation
2013
Jollibee Group breaks into Forbes Asia’s Fab 50, Asia-Pacific’s Best 50 Big Listed Companies
2013
Jollibee Group inaugurates the Jollibee Group distribution center, the Philippines’ largest automated quick service restaurant logistics facility
2013
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
2014
Jollibee Group and Ateneo team up to establish JFC University
2015
Jollibee Group acquires 40% of
US-based Smashburger
2015
Jollibee Group Chairman, Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, is awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards
2015
Jollibee Group is one of only two Filipino companies that rank in Forbes Asia’s Fab 50
2016
Jollibee Group acquires the remaining 30% stake in Mang Inasal, making it the 100% owner of the brand
2016
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
2017
Jollibee Group increases its ownership interest in the SuperFoods Group to 60%. SuperFoods Group is the holding company of Highlands Coffee
2018
Jollibee Group increases ownership in Smashburger to 85%
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
2018
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.
2018
Jollibee Group announces the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture with Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. to bring Panda Express restaurants to the Philippines.
2018
Jollibee Group wins the ASEAN Business Award for Priority Integration Sector — Food & Beverage
2018
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
2019
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
2020
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.d.
2020
Amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jollibee Group allocates PHP 1 Billion as an emergency fund for employees and donates PHP 240 Million in aid to frontlines and affected families.
2020
Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong is named as one of the A100 Most Impactful Asians
2020
Jollibee Group embarks on a Business Transformation aimed at adapting to changing consumer habits, accelerating profit recovery, and emerging stronger from the pandamic
2020
Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong is named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Asia Leaders Awards
2020
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
2021
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
2021
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%
2021
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
2021
Jollibee Group is cited in Forbes’ List of World’s Best Employers for the second consecutive year
2021
Jollibee Group announces that it will purchase a majority stake in Milksha, a popular Taiwanese tea brand
2021
Jollibee Group signs franchise agreement for Yoshinoya in the Philippines
2021
Jollibee Group increases Commitment to Fund Owning Tim Ho Wan from SGD 200M to SGD 225M, comprising 90% of the total fund
2021
Jollibee Group is cited by Forbes as among World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies, the only Philippine Company in the list
2021
Jollibee Group wins the 2021 ASEAN Business Award for Priority Integration Sector: Food and Beverage
2021
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
2022
Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong is named the 2022 Ramon V. Del Rosario Awardee for Nation-Building
2022
Jollibee Group named among the World’s Best Employers by Forbes for 3rd straight year.
Full story here.
2023
Jollibee Group launches its Sustainability Agenda “Joy for Tomorrow”.
Full story here.
2023
Jollibee Group celebrates its 45th Anniversary with the theme #JoyfulTogether.
2023
Jollibee Group Receives Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for the Second Time.
Full story here.
2023
Jollibee Group wins multiple citations at the 13th Institutional Investor Corporate Awards
Full Story here.
2023
Jollibee Group named among the World’s Best Companies 2023 by TIME Magazine
Full Story here.
2023
Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong awarded ‘Management Person of the Year 2023’ by Management Association of the Philippines
Full Story here.
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. Full Story here.