World-class Filipino enterprise

The recent inauguration of Jollibee’s store at the famous Times Square in New York City and in several other iconic places in the world—in London, Milan, Vancouver, Dubai, Singapore, and most of the Asian cities—completed the assent of Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) to the international scene comparable to McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, and Subway.

AT THE SAME TIME, IT ELEVATED JFC’S founder, chair, and “chief taste officer” (CTO), Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong, to rank among the truly world-class entrepreneurs in the likes of Jack Ma of China and Jeff Bezos of the United States.

Began in 1978 by Tan and his equally hardworking wife Grace, as a mom-and-pop store selling the now celebrated Chickenjoy, JFC has grown exponentially with over 6,300 stores at present. It owns 17 local and international brands sold in 33 countries—from the Philippines’ Mang Inasal, Chowking, Red Ribbon, and Greenwich Pizza, to Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan, to China’s Yonghe King, to America’s Smashburger and to the world’s Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Proudly Filipino, Jollibee is now a byword in the world of quick service restaurants.

In 1993, JFC was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange at P9 per share. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, its share price peaked at P325, meaning the share price multiplied 36 times in less than 30 years. At the height of the pandemic, it dropped to as low as P100. Now, it has more than doubled to about P230.

Indeed, prior to the pandemic, JFC had become one of the top 10 publicly listed quick service restaurants (QSRs) in the world. In eight years, it aims to be among the top five; and to double its store count, its worldwide sales revenue, and net income. If JFC’s CTO ate a meal in one of his QSRs daily, he would not be able to visit all of them during his lifetime because they will be increasing at a pace faster than his visits.

Outside of his businesses, Tan caught public attention when he successfully chaired the private sector counterpart of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or Apec held here on Nov. 18-19, 2015, attended by the top leaders of the world including then US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

AND YET, HE HAS REMAINED HUMBLE, FRIENDLY, GENEROUS, AND PATRIOTIC. Together with his wife, he organized (and is now chair emeritus of) the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) that encourages, assists, and funds farmers to produce consistently high-quality products that JFC and its subsidiaries purchase directly, thereby assuring an increased and steady income for them and high-quality ingredients for the customers.

Under its “FoodAID” program, JGF and its partners served over 8.4 million meals for pandemic and disaster-affected communities across 358 cities and 60 provinces from 2020 to June 2022. Its “Busog, Lusog, Talino” or “BLT Kitchens” have fed more than 240,000 pupils since 2007 and trained more than 400 parent volunteers to help in cooking the meals.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, TAN CAKTIONG WAS CHOSEN AS THE SOLE AWARDEE of the “RVR Award for Nation Building” by its sponsors: the Phinma Corp., the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), and the Manila Jaycees. In accepting his award at the Manila Polo Club, Tan said, “Since we started Jollibee in 1978, we’ve so far had only three visions for the company. First was when we wanted to be Number 1 in the Philippines; second was when we wanted to be Number 1 in Asia, and a few years ago, we said we needed to dream even bigger, and want to become one of the top 5 best restaurant companies in the world.

“When we set this vision, we never intended to become big just for the sake of becoming big. We set this imbued with a sense of purpose—including that it be something we, our people, and our country can all be proud of … This award you have given me is an affirmation that we are all capable of doing great things for our country and our people. It will continue to inspire me and all of us in Jollibee Foods Corp.”

Tan finished high school at Chiang Kai Shek College and chemical engineering at the University of Santo Tomas, which granted him an honorary doctoral degree a few years ago. Later, the elite AIM conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Management, honoris causa. The board of judges of the RVR Award was composed of former finance secretary Ramon R. Del Rosario Jr., business leader Manuel V. Pangilinan, former ambassador to Great Britain Jesus P. Tambunting, former ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia Jr., AIM president and dean Jikyeong Kang, Phinma chair emeritus Oscar Hilado, Manila Jaycee president Richard Lim, and yours truly as chair.

Past awardees during the last 12 years include Pangilinan, Tambunting, Jaime Aristotle Alip, Senen Bacani, Diosdado Banatao, Oscar M. Lopez, Vicente Paterno, Henry Sy, Washington SyCip, George Ty, and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

(Disclosure: Since 2010, I have been a nonexecutive director of JFC and a member of the JFC executive committee.)

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