Jollibee Vietnam plans to expand to 300 outlets in Vietnam within the next three years, according to Inside Retail Asia.

“Vietnam will have 95 million people and the economy is also growing,” said Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong, Chairman of the Filipino fast-food chain.

He added there has also been demand in Vietnam for its other brands, “but probably we will focus first on Jollibee, Highlands Coffee, and Pho 24.”

Aside from Vietnam, Jollibee also plans to expand in Japan, Toronto, and Manhattan, ending the year with 4,000 outlets worldwide. In its home market, it has recently opened its 1,000th outlet, in Taguig, 40 years after it came into being.

Jollibee arrived in Vietnam in 1996 and began franchising at the end of 2015. It now has 98 outlets in the country.

Expansion plans call for a combined total of 485 Highlands Coffee and Pho24 outlets, mainly in Vietnam as well as Asia and Australia. Highlands Coffee currently has 159 outlets while Pho 24 has 33.

Jollibee and its partner, Viet Thai International, plan to list JV Superfoods, which owns Highlands Coffee and Pho24, on Vietnam’s stock exchange by July 2019.

This will adjust the shareholding in the Jollibee Vietnam JV company the SuperFoods Group to 60 per cent JFC and 40 per cent VTI from the previous equal ownership. 

SuperFoods is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jollibee’s JSF Investments and VTI, which has business mostly in Vietnam. It owns and runs the Highlands Coffee and Pho 24 brands and is a franchisee of Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong, Macau, and Vietnam.

It aims to offer Asian consumers a quality coffee and café experience at affordable prices through its Highlands Coffee shops and packaged products, and plans to serve consumers in Asia and key cities internationally with quality and healthy Vietnamese food at affordable prices through Pho 24.

Highlands Coffee has 164 outlets in Vietnam and 16 in the Philippines, while Pho 24 has 16 in Vietnam, 13 in Indonesia, two in Cambodia, and one each in Australia and South Korea.

JFC said it will take the lead in capital-raising for the JV to help with its expansion plans, working with financial institutions in Vietnam and other parts of Asia.