For many restaurant brands, franchising is an early growth lever. For Jollibee, it was a milestone earned over decades.
Before officially launching its franchising program in North America, the global fried chicken leader spent years building, refining and stress-testing more than 100 company-owned restaurants across the United States and Canada. That deliberate, operator-first approach has become the foundation of a franchise system designed not just for expansion, but for long-term success at the unit level.
Rather than asking franchisees to “figure it out,” Jollibee entered franchising having already done the work. The brand refined everything from kitchen flow and staffing models to menu execution and customer experience.
“Many brands rush into franchising as a way to drive growth,” said Peter Wright, vice president of franchising. “Jollibee did not rush into franchising. By operating corporate units for decades, we ‘cracked the code’ on operations before asking franchisees to join the system.”
Operating at scale across North America gave Jollibee something many emerging franchise brands lack: a deep understanding of the U.S. consumer and the operational realities of the market.
“This is a long-tenured team, and that will benefit franchisees a lot,” Wright said. “The team has seen virtually every kind of challenge thrown at us, and as they’ve navigated them, they’ve really figured out how to thrive in the U.S. market.”
That experience shows up in every layer of the franchise system today, from training and site selection to operational playbooks and performance benchmarks.
One of the most important lessons Jollibee learned from operating its own restaurants is that new locations don’t get a traditional ramp-up period, for example, especially in today’s social media-driven environment.
“Even ahead of openings, we are starting to see a lot of postings on social media about restaurants,” Wright said. “That builds up a lot of anticipation. You don’t really have a grace period after you open — you have to be ready on day one.”
That reality has shaped Jollibee's franchising approach. “From our standpoint, that means making the investment in people, training and support to ensure that from the first hour, guests are having a great experience,” Wright said.
For franchisees, that means stepping into a system built to prepare them from the start. The onboarding, training and support are meant to help new locations open well and keep performing over time.
Jollibee’s corporate footprint also validated an equally important point: broad, cross-cultural consumer demand.
While the brand has long been beloved within Filipino communities, its company-owned locations proved its ability to scale far beyond that base. “One of our newest stores in NYC was getting about 95% of customers from the general population,” Wright said. “We are building a loyal following beyond the Filipino communities.”
That insight is critical for franchisees evaluating long-term growth potential. It signals that Jollibee is not a niche concept but a mainstream brand with expanding appeal, supported by strong unit-level performance: free-standing restaurants average approximately $4.55 million in annual sales, while in-line locations average $4.62 million, with some in-line locations even surpassing $9 million annually.
“The growth of the popularity of the brand is the real opportunity,” Wright said. “The positive response we’ve seen and our financial performance speak for themselves.”
Even as Jollibee embraces franchising, it hasn’t abandoned its operator-first mindset.
“We’re going to continue building company-owned units,” Wright said. “But we’re also going to partner with the right franchisees to develop units. Being an operator ourselves and having that alignment with the franchise operating community is a great strength for us. Our north star is the success of Jollibee.”
Because Jollibee spent years refining its model before franchising, the brand can afford to take a more selective approach to growth. That matters for experienced operators because it points to a system built for long-term stability rather than rapid dealmaking.
“It’s not about how many deals we can sign,” Wright said. “It’s about finding the right franchisees who are aligned with our vision. I like to say we award franchises, we don’t sell them. Joining Jollibee is like joining a very exclusive club.”
As Jollibee works toward 500 North American locations by 2030, it is entering franchising from a position of strength. In a crowded QSR landscape, that kind of foundation is rare.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/jollibee.
Jollibee
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After decades of operating company-owned restaurants, Jollibee is using those lessons to build a franchise model focused on scale, consistency and strong unit-level performance.
For many restaurant brands, franchising is an early growth lever. For Jollibee, it was a milestone earned over decades.
Before officially launching its franchising program in North America, the global fried chicken leader spent years building, refining and stress-testing more than 100 company-owned restaurants across the United States and Canada. That deliberate, operator-first approach has become the foundation of a franchise system designed not just for expansion, but for long-term success at the unit level.
Rather than asking franchisees to “figure it out,” Jollibee entered franchising having already done the work. The brand refined everything from kitchen flow and staffing models to menu execution and customer experience.
“Many brands rush into franchising as a way to drive growth,” said Peter Wright, vice president of franchising. “Jollibee did not rush into franchising. By operating corporate units for decades, we ‘cracked the code’ on operations before asking franchisees to join the system.”
Operating at scale across North America gave Jollibee something many emerging franchise brands lack: a deep understanding of the U.S. consumer and the operational realities of the market.
“This is a long-tenured team, and that will benefit franchisees a lot,” Wright said. “The team has seen virtually every kind of challenge thrown at us, and as they’ve navigated them, they’ve really figured out how to thrive in the U.S. market.”
That experience shows up in every layer of the franchise system today, from training and site selection to operational playbooks and performance benchmarks.
One of the most important lessons Jollibee learned from operating its own restaurants is that new locations don’t get a traditional ramp-up period, for example, especially in today’s social media-driven environment.
“Even ahead of openings, we are starting to see a lot of postings on social media about restaurants,” Wright said. “That builds up a lot of anticipation. You don’t really have a grace period after you open — you have to be ready on day one.”
That reality has shaped Jollibee's franchising approach. “From our standpoint, that means making the investment in people, training and support to ensure that from the first hour, guests are having a great experience,” Wright said.
For franchisees, that means stepping into a system built to prepare them from the start. The onboarding, training and support are meant to help new locations open well and keep performing over time.
Jollibee’s corporate footprint also validated an equally important point: broad, cross-cultural consumer demand.
While the brand has long been beloved within Filipino communities, its company-owned locations proved its ability to scale far beyond that base. “One of our newest stores in NYC was getting about 95% of customers from the general population,” Wright said. “We are building a loyal following beyond the Filipino communities.”
That insight is critical for franchisees evaluating long-term growth potential. It signals that Jollibee is not a niche concept but a mainstream brand with expanding appeal, supported by strong unit-level performance: free-standing restaurants average approximately $4.55 million in annual sales, while in-line locations average $4.62 million, with some in-line locations even surpassing $9 million annually.
“The growth of the popularity of the brand is the real opportunity,” Wright said. “The positive response we’ve seen and our financial performance speak for themselves.”
Even as Jollibee embraces franchising, it hasn’t abandoned its operator-first mindset.
“We’re going to continue building company-owned units,” Wright said. “But we’re also going to partner with the right franchisees to develop units. Being an operator ourselves and having that alignment with the franchise operating community is a great strength for us. Our north star is the success of Jollibee.”
Because Jollibee spent years refining its model before franchising, the brand can afford to take a more selective approach to growth. That matters for experienced operators because it points to a system built for long-term stability rather than rapid dealmaking.
“It’s not about how many deals we can sign,” Wright said. “It’s about finding the right franchisees who are aligned with our vision. I like to say we award franchises, we don’t sell them. Joining Jollibee is like joining a very exclusive club.”
As Jollibee works toward 500 North American locations by 2030, it is entering franchising from a position of strength. In a crowded QSR landscape, that kind of foundation is rare.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/jollibee.
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