Fast food chain Jollibee targets top QSR spot in Vietnam

Philippines-based fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. has announced its ambition to become the largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain in Vietnam.

With 158 outlets in the country as of Q1/2023, Jollibee is currently the third biggest QSR brand in the country, catering to a 100% local Vietnamese customer base, the company says.

“With Vietnam’s continued economic development and growing population, we see huge growth prospects for Jollibee in the country,” Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a recent company release.

“We intend to maximize Vietnam’s huge growth opportunity in the rapidly growing QSR industry in Vietnam, focusing our investment in key cities and developing areas.”

Jollibee Vietnam has continued to post strong double-digit sales growth both system-wide and per outlet, with dine-in customers exceeding pre-pandemic levels and off-premise channels also growing fast even as customers return to outlets.

Jollibee Vietnam opened seven new stores in 2022 and four more in Q1 of this year. It did not close any outlet permanently during the peak of the pandemic crisis.

To support its growth plans, Jollibee established its own commissary in Vietnam with the capacity to support 400 stores.

Its popular products include fried chicken, sweet chili chicken and sweet spaghetti.

“Our continued success in Vietnam and in many other parts of the world shows that Jollibee can indeed win over the hearts of the international customer base, and we will continue expanding our presence both in Vietnam and around the globe,” Tanmantiong said.

Jollibee operates more than 1,500 outlets in 17 markets worldwide. Its continuous expansion in Vietnam is also part of efforts to become one of the top five restaurant companies in the world.

Eating out lifestyle

The Vietnamese food service market is expected to register an impressive compound annual growth rate CAGR of 9.70% and its market size is projected to reach around $36.86 billion by 2027, according to a report released in February by global market insights provider Research and Markets.

Jollibee, KFC, Lotteria, Pizza Hut, Pizza 4Ps, Highlands Coffee, Phuc Long Coffee and Tea, Starbucks, C. P. Vietnam Corp., and brands under the Golden Gate Trade Services JSC roof are among the top brands identified by the report.

Due to shifting lifestyles and an increase in food service establishments, eating out was becoming a significant aspect of modern Vietnamese life. In Vietnam, eating out for business purposes is also typical, the report says.

Moreover, Vietnam's food service industry is significantly influenced by the surging trend of eating out among affluent and young consumers, particularly Generation Z and young millennials (18-35 years old).

A report by the Korea Agriculture-Food Group says 43% of Korean businesses have opted to franchise in Vietnam. Significant numbers of major western brands are also present in the country now and Vietnam has also created its own franchise brands.

Numerous fast food chains in Vietnam have turned to online distribution channels to boost overall sales as a result of the 100-million population's increasingly busy lives and hectic schedules, the Research and Markets report notes.