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Jollibee 'a slice of home' for Canada's Filipino population


Jollibee’s long-awaited arrival in Toronto this April saw over 7,000 people line up for nearly 10 hours.
Over three months later, anybody hoping to sample the most popular fast food restaurant in the Philippines should steel themselves for a long wait.
This was the backdrop for Jollibee’s opening of their second Toronto-area restaurant — their fourth in Canada — in Mississauga’s Heartland Town Center on Friday, July 13.
Choosing to open in Mississauga, said Jollibee Foods Corp. Group President Jose Minana, Jr., was a nobrainer.
“Coming from Scarborough, where we had a tremendous response — Mississauga is home to a lot of Filipinos, so that’s where our primary target was,” he said.
Over half of Canada’s 800,000 Filipinos live in southern Ontario — a lucrative market indeed for a company so deeply ingrained in the culture of the Philippines.
Jollibee opened their first Canadian restaurant in Winnipeg, just north of the Polo Park shopping centre, in Jan. 2016 — followed a year later with a second in the city’s north end.
On April 1, the chain opened their first Toronto-area franchise at Kennedy Rd. and the 401, welcoming long lines of hungry — and nostalgic — southern Ontario Filipinos, erecting heated (and later air conditioned) tents in the parking lot to make the wait more comfortable.
On opening day of the Mississauga location, people began queing at 10 p.m. the previous evening.
So what is it about Jollibee that elicits such a passionate following?
“I think there’s really two things,” Minana said.
The first, he explained, is the food — specifically the fried chicken, the Filipino-style spaghetti and the peach-mango pies (deep-fried pastries filled with fresh peaches and mangoes sourced from the Philippines) as the most popular offerings.
“The other one, really, is that it’s a slice of home,” he explained.
“I was talking to a couple here, and he was saying that just standing there brings back memories.”
Jollibee has grown to become an inseparable part of life and culture in the Philippines.
Beginning in 1975 at the opening of a family-owned ice cream stand in Manila, their addition of hot meals evolved into a multinational corporation with 1,200 restaurants worldwide.
Even the 1981 entry of McDonald’s into the Philippines wasn’t enough to shake Jollibee’s dominance, which continues to outpace the American fast food behemoth’s growth.
Jollibee Foods Corporation eventually acquired many of the country’s most successful fast food brands, including owning the Philippine franchise rights for Burger King and in 2016 buying a majority stake in the American burger chain Smashburger and its nearly 400 restaurants across the United States and Canada.
My wife Jaq, who grew up in and around Manila, associates the chain with warm memories of days gone by.
“Jollibee is part of my childhood,” she said.
“I grew up with it, it’s always a taste of home.”
The chain’s beloved mascot, the eponymous bee decked out in a red tuxedo and white chef’s hat, can be found on countless merchandise and toys, including a six-season children’s television show.
Surveying the people lined up Friday morning, Minana is confident in their announcement last month to open 100 new restaurants in Canada over the next five years.
While Toronto’s definitely on deck to receive some of those, Minana said Jollibee locations will open in Calgary and Edmonton next year.
“Sure, it’s all about the food, but it’s really become a place we can gather as a family,” Minana said.
“Whether it’s among friends or siblings or cousins, it’s a place were you gather and celebrate. “You can really feel the joy inside.”
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
So what’s on the menu that’s prompting these hours-long line-ups? Here’s a look at some of their most popular offerings.
JOLLY CRISPY CHICKEN
“Crispylicious and Juicylicious” is how Minana described Jollibee’s most popular offering.
“There’s a certain flavour that really makes it quite different.”
Happily biting into a chicken leg, Jaq’s in full agreement with Minana’s assessment.
“I love the crunch,” she said.
PEACH MANGO PIE
Made with real Philippine mangoes and fried golden brown, there’s few who can dispute the Peach Mango Pie’s popularity.
“Filipinos like mangos,” said Jaq with a laugh, when asked why it’s so popular.
Although not yet available in Canada and normally only sold in the Philppines during lent, the Jollibee Tuna Pie (which replaces the fruit filling with savoury tuna, cheese, mayo and carrot) has a McRib-esque cult following among many Filipinos.
JOLLY SPAGHETTI.
Another favourite is the Jolly Spaghetti — which Minana describes as a “sweet-style” spaghetti and common down-home comfort food.
“We have to put a little emphasis on ‘sweet style,’” Minana said.
The purely-Filipino take on the classic meal also features sliced hot dogs, ham and shredded cheese as toppings — and is my wife’s hands-down favourite.
“It’s just so sweet, and spicy,” she said, her mouth full of spaghetti.
“I just love it.”
PALABOK FIESTA
Probably the most unfamiliar item to Jollibee rookies, rice noodles topped with garlic shrimp sauce, pork, sliced hard-boiled egg and boiled shrimp is a traditional Filipino dish, Minana explained.

Provide answers and explanations to the following questions:

1. Do you think that Jollibee feels low or high pressures for cost reduction?
2. Do you think that Jollibee feels low or high pressures for local responsiveness?
3. How should knowledge be developed and diffused for Jollibee?
4. Which strategy and structure combination is recommended for the company?

Answer 1

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1. Do you think that Jollibee feels low or high pressures for cost reduction?

Jollibee feels low cost reduction pressure due to the high demand for its products as evidenced by the long ques for the new store in Toronto; this was the case for over three months. The firm experiences similarly high demand in other regions. Thus, it does not feel the need to cut costs and there is no pressure since the demands end up generating significant profits and costs are met more than the required amount.

2. Do you think that Jollibee feels low or high pressures for local responsiveness?

Jollibee feels low pressure for local responsiveness. The firm employs a strategy of serving local Filipino communities in large cities. As the firm has a Filipino focused menu, there is little need for menu customization, and thus, a low need for local responsiveness. The chain operates in areas where there are a high number of Filipinos living. Thus, as a result there is low pressure for local responsiveness as people come to eat at the restaurant themselves. An example is seen in its new Toronto store with its target market of around 400,000 Filipinos living within the area. The menu also caters mostly to Filipinos so local responsiveness is generated in itself. The chain expands where there is a significant Filipino population and thus attracts customers and creates a consumer base as soon as the branch opens.

3. How should knowledge be developed and diffused for Jollibee?

Knowledge should be developed from international markets to help improve product offering in each local market, as well as to help improve overall product selection across Jollibee stores. Knowledge should be diffused through the interaction between line-staff and the R&D department. In addition to interaction which will lead to further innovation and generally help, the chain should focus on how to offer more product variety and reach a consumer base even apart from Filipinos. If knowledge is taken from other large global chains, the same innovations can be applied and products can be launched, while keeping the old products intact. Thus, the old customer base will stay intact but product innovation and expansion will also occur.

4. Which strategy and structure combination is recommended for the company?

The firm should follow an internationalization strategy. This means that they should focus on expanding to new markets, specifically with large Filipino populations. This strategy is recommended due to the success garnered in numerous markets from the same strategy in the past. A focus on communities with large Filipino immigrant populations is highly recommended due to the firm’s service offerings and highly successful differentiation strategy, which has made Jollibee’s a household name for Filipino’s. The recommended organizational structure is one with geographical business units to manage each international region as this has proven successful in the past. However, in addition to this, new markets and new products will lead to further expansion in other regions and among people in those regions. Thus, not only will the Filipino people be catered to and targeted in different regions, but the chain may be able to grow globally and attract customers from all regions. This is very similar to chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King that started out in the United States but expanded all over the world and acquired a global consumer base, thus allowing for global expansion. However, quality of the company’s products should always be maintained.