Jollibee

What about jolly? Oh,

jolly bee? Jollibee.

Yeah, I never heard of that.

Never heard of that.

Pampanga is the region of the Philippines famous for its rich culinary history and tradition.

It would also be remiss of me not to mention that my grandmother's sister founded the Filipino Panaderia Red Ribbon Bakery, which Jollibee purchased in 2005.

On my dad's side came innovation, unseriousness, and resourcefulness from a man who worked at the McDonald's on Story Road in San Jose.

I only understood that my dad was the stuff of legends once I became a professional chef.

Absolutely

... uh, in, in a Jollibee.

So, you know.

Mm-hmm.

Like my mom s- I told my mom I was going to this movie, and she said, "Oh, they watched that on Big Brother." I'm like, "Well, that's smart.

That's a good way to market." But, you know.

Yeah, I mean, there's definitely crossover, like Jollibee, the big fast food chicken, chicken joint from the Philippines, had a crossover here, right? I don't know.

I, I'm, it's, the marketing is hard.

Earlier this year, CEO Liz Williams said that she is optimistic the national push will stick this time around because there is more clarity on standards, systems, and training, while unit economics have also improved significantly in the past several years.

Philippines-based Jollibee, which didn't enter the U.S. until 1998, is now the 129th largest chain by sales in the U.S., buoyed by a 17% year-over-year increase to finish 2025 far outpacing the chicken category as a whole, which grew by 5.3%.

David Beale, Global Chief Marketing Officer of parent company Jollibee Group, said the chain's performance in the U.S. has been encouraging because of its appeal among mainstream local consumers, including in markets where customers had no prior familiarity with the brand.

He said, though, the category is extremely competitive.

Jollibee will avoid copying other brands and instead focus on what makes it distinctive, including its unique menu and focus on joyful hospitality.

This story will be changing all the time over the next month and probably next few years.

Anyway, let's shift gears and we'll take a look at a lighter story about a fast food giant called Jollibee, which is based in the Philippines.

Now, most Westerners probably have never heard of this company, but it's actually one of the biggest regional fast food companies in Asia, owning other relatively large brands like Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in addition to its core Jollibee chain.

Now, the company recently announced a change of direction for its international operation, saying it scrapped plans to spin off and separately list it in the US and instead was going to move the listing to Hong Kong.

So, Renee, you've been following the rivalry between Wall Street and Hong Kong and, to a lesser extent, Singapore for a long time.

Well, as you sort of pointed out, we've seen lots of Chinese companies going to Hong Kong to raise money lately, but Not as many big regional companies like this one.

We've seen sort of Hong Kong and Singapore, too, sort of competing for these regional companies and, you know, a little bit maybe New York as well.

Do you think going forward we'll see more of these sort of big regional plays that aren't necessarily based in China or Hong Kong listing in Hong Kong? And also, any advice for investors on Jollibee in particular, assuming that it finally lists in Hong Kong?