Jollibee, the restaurant brand founded in the Philippines that is rapidly expanding in Europe with £50 million investment plans, today announces strong sales growth between January and September 2021. Even at the height of the pandemic and during the lockdown, Jollibee opened eight new stores – in Liverpool, Leicester, London, Cardiff, Leeds, Reading, Newcastle, and today, in Nottingham – at a time when many restaurants are holding back on expansion and some forced to permanently close stores.

Despite the turbulence of the pandemic, overall sales for Jollibee grew 417% and over 1.3 million pieces of the brand’s most famous menu item, Chickenjoy, were sold since January 2021. At the same time, Jollibee’s chicken burger sales rose 566.9%, proving to be the fastest growing menu item in terms of sales.

Adam Parkinson, Business Head of Jollibee Europe comments: “In possibly one of the hardest years the industry has ever seen, we have not deviated from our long-term strategy of investing heavily in Europe. We are seeing it pay off with many now able to find a Jollibee in their local city. Deciding to push forward is part of our dedication to turn everything into an opportunity. We were actively picking up real estate in prime locations that pre-pandemic was not available to us – allowing us to introduce our great brand and menu to a lot of new European customers.”

During the first half of 2021, Jollibee set its eyes on a post-lockdown boom and launched its European flagship store in Leicester Square, just as lockdown measures were eased. During the first two weeks of the flagship opening, Jollibee saw nearly 14,000 customers walk through the door and sold nearly 62,000 pieces of Chickenjoy.

Despite lockdown restrictions and the process of finding suppliers during a pandemic, all store launches have proven to be a huge success, particularly popular with young adults looking for new experiences following months of isolation. The Leicester Square opening was followed by openings in Madrid in Spain, and Cardiff, Wales; Leeds; Reading; Newcastle, and most recently Nottingham in the UK. Jollibee’s growth and investment creates over 600 new jobs in the UK market by the end of 2021. In the Leicester Square restaurant alone, over 1,000 people applied for a job ahead of the store opening earlier this year.

Jollibee is also set to open even more new stores, including the first in Scotland at the beginning of 2022 with stores in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is part of the brand’s £50 million investment in Europe – £30 million of which will go to the UK. The Edinburgh restaurant will be Jollibee’s first location in Scotland, as the brand continues to open in new countries across Europe. As people return to their normal busy lives, Jollibee expects convenience to be a major pull for customers. Therefore, the brand is planning to open several drive-thrus and shopping centre locations next year, as well as launching an app which will be rolled out soon.

Parkinson continues: “With our ambitious plans following the success of our UK store launches, we are excited to rapidly expand our offering not only across Britain, but across Europe and with new experiences such as drive-thrus, and the launch of our app. As a newcomer to the UK, we are heartened by the local support received and, as always, the support from the Filipino communities across the UK.”

Richard Graham MP for Gloucester and Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the Philippines commented: “It’s good to see the success of Jollibee’s flagship store in Leicester Square, London and that its future investment plans are on track for at least 30 more stores in the next few years. This is a great example of what the UK market can deliver for the Philippines and other South East Asia investors here, while already generating hundreds of new jobs. It’s another welcome chicken flavoured step forward for the UK-Philippines trade and investment.”

Michelle Fatima S. Sanchez, Commercial Counsellor and Director, Philippine Trade and Investment Center for the Embassy of the Philippines said: “It means a lot for us to see Jollibee expand the way it has here in the UK. It is after all an iconic home-grown brand that we in the Philippines identify with. At the same, we’re proud to see that same brand go global and adapt and thrive in a completely different market like the UK.”

Sanchez continued: “I see Jollibee’s entry and expansion in the UK as a win-win proposition for Philippine-UK business. Here’s a Philippine company with the means and the gumption to continue investing and growing in a new market during a pandemic. It speaks well of the confidence that Philippine business places in the UK. We have witnessed that same confidence reciprocated with UK companies setting up operations in the Philippines over the past several months.”