Jollibee Foods Corp.: International Expansion

Executive Summary
Jollibee was a company originally established by the Tan family in 1975 as a family-owned ice cream parlor in the Philippines, but was soon forced to change its market caused by the oil crisis of 1977 - a factor which would have inherently caused the price of ice cream to double. Already established in the food industry and having overcome the initial barriers faced by those entering it, the Tan family successfully diversified the company to selling sandwiches. From that point, Jollibee began expanding their success by launching a total of five stores by 1978, founding what we see today as Jollibee Foods Corp.

1. How was Jollibee able to build its dominant position in fast food in the Philippines? What are the sources of competitive advantage was it able to develop against McDonalds in its home market?
There were several contributing factors in Jollibee’s rise to a dominant position in the Philippines fast food market. Because they were already doing business in the food industry, the entry barrier was low in making the shift to fast food. Additionally, the recipe was developed locally using culturally desirable ingredients destined to satisfy the taste buds of the patronage. The brand was quickly developed using the “Five F’s” that were Jollibee’s business philosophy: Flavorful Food, Fun, Flexibility, and Families. Jollibee’s ability to offer all of these benefits at an affordable price led the company to this dominant position. Furthermore, since Jollibee was portrayed as a company with a friendly atmosphere and operations similar to that of a “beehive,” they created a bee mascot which became popular to a point that children flocked to it when seen in public – an operations and marketing strategy which supported an increase in brand recognition and foundation for dominant market share.