Jollibee is one of world’s most valuable resto brands

Jollibee was recently named as one of the world’s most valuable restaurant brands by Brand Finance, ranking the homegrown fast food giant as top 14, which is two notches up from last year’s rank, having increased its brand value by 29 percent.

Jollibee is the only Asian restaurant company included in the list. “We see them to have the potential to reach the top 10 restaurant brands in the near future,” said Samir Dixit, managing director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific.

“Brand value” is defined as the financial value of a brand’s marketing-related intangible assets, including names, symbols, logos and designs, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of customers and stakeholders that generate eco- nomic benefits.

Brand value is important given that there is a compelling link between strong brands and stock market performance. In Brand Finance’s recently conducted share price study, it was found that investing in the most highly branded companies would lead to a return almost double that of the average for the S&P 500 as a whole.

“We are heartened that Jollibee has been ranked to be among the top in the world. This is the result of hard work to create a place for Jollibee in the hearts and minds of our customers. It gives us greater confidence to continue our expansion plans and to open more stores abroad which will not only benefit our store customers, but also our stakeholders who have invested in the Jollibee name,” said Ernesto Tanman- tiong, chief executive officer of Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC).

As the largest Asian restaurant company, JFC has embarked on aggressive expansion overseas. One of its key strategies is to strengthen its international market through more store openings of its Jollibee brand in the US and other countries.

Jollibee operates 171 stores abroad and 989 stores in the Philippines as of end February. Its most recent store opening overseas was in Jacksonville, Florida last March.

It is also set to open its first store in Manhattan this year, and intends to open in new markets in Italy, Australia, and Guam in the next few years. Jollibee is expected to triple its store network and reach more than 500 stores abroad in five years.