Franchising
How franchising will take Jollibee to the next level in the US
The Philippines-based fast-food chain Jollibee, known for its popular fried chicken, is successfully overcoming its low U.S. brand awareness and crowded market competition by capitalizing on a cult-like fan base, superior food quality and a new franchising program aimed at aggressive, partner-driven expansion across North America.
October 31, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Despite operating with a relatively small footprint in North America — just 107 units across the U.S. and Canada out of approximately 1,800 globally — the Philippines-based Jollibee is rapidly gaining ground against established American fast-food giants.
Known for its winning combination of fried chicken (Chickenjoy) and signature spaghetti, the brand is successfully translating its global, cult-like following into domestic success, even as it tackles the key challenge of building broader brand awareness. With an impressive Average Unit Volume (AUV) of $4.6 million and a recent win for Best Fast Food Fried Chicken in USA Today's Reader's Choice survey, Jollibee is now aggressively leveraging its proven track record and international support to fuel its U.S. expansion through a new franchising program.
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Peter Wright, vice president of franchising for Jollibee. Photo: Jollibee |
"Regardless of the concept or the segment that a given restaurant operates in, there is always room for superior-tasting food married to great service," Peter Wright, vice president of franchising for Jollibee, said in a phone interview with QSRweb. "That's one way that really any brand can be successful in their segment, and I think that's something we've been achieving."
With a restaurant in Times Square in New York City, Jollibee is working on its brand awareness in the markets it serves.
"We think there's tremendous white space in the U.S., but really our biggest challenge is simply building awareness of who Jollibee is with the general population," Wright said. As the brand opens more stores, it's grabbing more customer base. "You may not have heard of us, but once you try us, we guarantee you're going to come back because people love our food that much."
For people who know Jollibee, it has an almost cult-like fan base, including a heavy social media presence. The brand recently did a marketing collaboration with GRAMMY-award winning pop group KATSEYE, and Wright said inbound interest in prospective franchisees spiked. What they're already doing for brand awareness seems to be working well for the brand, but Wright admits there's more to do.
And as more international consumers land in the U.S., many are already familiar with Jollibee from their overseas travels. Jollibee is owned by Jollibee Group, which oversees 19 brands and almost 10,000 units worldwide. With 1,800 Jollibee units, the brand transcends cultures and borders. Write said though the brand started in the Philippines, it is not a Filipino restaurant — it's a fried chicken restaurant. Fried chicken appeals to all demographics across every market Jollibee operates in. It's popular Chicken Joy and Spicy Chicken Joy, burger and pies appeal to many.
"There are some great and strong competitors out there across the QSR landscape, including chicken, but what we're finding through our company-owned development here in the U.S. is that there's still a tremendous opportunity not only because chicken is ever more popular, but there's always room for an operator that serves great-tasting food and really works hard to delight their customers every day," Wright added.
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Photo: Jollibee |
Franchising
Jollibee recently opened franchising in the U.S. last March. Wright joined to head up those franchising efforts in August.
"We've seen globally how we can be successful with local franchise partners developing units and finding those local partners who really understand the nuance of how to operate in a given market is what attracts us to franchising," Wright said.
The brand has 33 units in California where it's headquartered in the U.S., and Wright believes they know the U.S. market well, but that franchise partners most certainly have a higher degree of knowledge of their own markets. "Finding those partners is what's going to lead us to success," Wright said.
Though some may see Jollibee as an emerging brand in the U.S., the brand has resources in terms of support at its international headquarters in Manilla. With both an international and U.S. support center, Jollibee has rapidly expanded throughout the world. Now they're bringing that to the U.S.
"We know what to expect as we scale and making sure that we have the right team and the right resources to support that growth as it scales," Wright said. "That's a lot of what we've been working on currently. We feel very strongly that we're in a good position to support franchise operators in our system, and we know what it's going to take to be able to scale for the aggressive growth we're looking for."
In franchise partners, the brand is seeking those with the requisite financial resources to develop multiple units in a market and those with substantial industry experience and the right leadership team in place to succeed.
Outside of those prerequisites is the need for franchise partners to share Jollibee's common vision of a family-oriented culture. The brand's core values start with a focus on the customer. Second is speed with excellence, followed by the humility to listen and learn. The spirit of family and fun is the fourth core value, followed by operating with a high degree of integrity.
"One of the questions I always ask a would-be franchisee is 'with all the opportunities to invest in brands, why are you interested in Jollibee?' I really want to know what's driving that and that helps us to better understand that alignment with our values and vision," Wright said.
Investments for franchisees depend on the footprint of the Jollibee unit and range from $1.6 million to $4.9 million. There are free-standing Jollibees, and in-line units and endcaps as well. Some are in urban downtown areas while others are in shopping malls demonstrating that the brand can operate in a variety of locations.
Visibility is the major factor when it comes to site selection. Wright said they're looking for 25,000-plus traffic on those primary streets and they look for traffic-generating anchors like shopping malls, big-box retailers, hospitals and colleges to situate Jollibees near. The typical Jollibee is 2,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Some locations have drive-thrus as well.
There's no plan to open a certain number of units in the next few years, and Wright said it's more about finding the right franchise partners for the brand across the country.
"We will grow as fast as we are able to find the right multi-unit franchise partners to help us," Wright said, "and there is so much white space with this brand in the United States. Almost every major market in the United States is available for franchise development right now."
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
