Philippines-based fried-chicken chain Jollibee is looking for a partner who can open multiple Jollibee franchises in greater Orlando.
“We are actively searching for and recruiting multi-unit developers right now, so my priority is to find the right operator for the Orlando market,” said Peter Wright, the company’s vice president of franchise development. “We would prefer to have somebody that could develop the entire market.”
Jollibee opened its first and only Orlando outpost in January 2023 at 11891 Colonial Dr. between Waterford Lakes and the University of Central Florida. Like nearly all Jollibee restaurants, it’s a company-owned store. But this past March, Jollibee launched its first franchising program in the U.S.
Orlando Sentinel food critic Amy Drew Thompson is a fan of Jollibee’s bone-in fried chicken and its peach mango pie. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
The company, which has 107 Jollibee locations across North America, says its goal is to have 350 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada in the next couple of years, with its new franchising program playing a critical role in its growth strategy. Right now, there’s only one franchise-owned Jollibee — it opened in Queens, N.Y., in August — but the company expects franchisees to account for most of its future growth in America.
The company envisions up to a dozen Jollibee restaurants in Central Florida.
“We are actively targeting markets across the country, but we are emphasizing priority markets for us, including South Florida and Orlando being very important markets for us,” Wright said. “One of the reasons why we’re franchising is we want to partner with operators that have really great local expertise in the market, and they will help us to identify what the total development opportunity looks like.”
William and Grace Bailey of Port St. Lucie made a day trip to Orlando for Jollibee’s Orlando grand opening in 2023. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Founded in 1978 in the Philippines, Jollibee bills itself as “the largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant company in the world.” It has more than 1,700 locations globally. Its first American location opened in California in 1998.
In Florida, besides its Orlando location, it also operates a restaurant in Jacksonville, one in Pinellas Park near St. Petersburg, and another in Pembroke Pines between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
The chain is best-known for its “Chickenjoy” fried chicken, although it also sells peach mango pies and other items that enjoy near cult-level popularity with its regulars. It offers buckets of bone-in fried chicken, as well as tenders and chicken sandwiches, along with “burger steaks” smothered in mushroom gravy. It sells its own sweet Pineapple Quencher soft drink. Another signature dish is “Jolly Spaghetti,” topped with a sweet sauce featuring ground beef with chunks of ham and hot dogs.
Wright views Jollibee’s main competition as other chicken concepts such as KFC, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes and Raising Cane’s.
Jollibee says its expansion plans come as the chain’s American restaurants are reporting average gross sales of $4.5 million, well above the industry average for QSRs, quick service restaurants.
“This is the best franchising opportunity nobody’s heard of,” Wright said. “We have 25 years of operating experience in the United States. We have 107 open proof-of-concept locations. Even though we’re not a well-known brand in the United States, and many people may view us as an emerging brand, we’ve demonstrated that we can successfully operate across a variety of market types.”
“We are looking for well-capitalized, experienced multi-unit operators who are looking for new growth opportunities.”
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