In today's globalized world where global brands quickly adopt to local demands in order to gain customer acceptance, being a local brand seems like waging a losing battle. But one Asian brand has proved this wrong by beating a global giant flat!
Jollibee is the brand pride of the Philippines. The brand has been so hugely successful that even the mighty McDonald's has been forced to copy Jollibee. Jollibee was started in 1975 as a two brand ice cream parlor by a small time entrepreneur Tony Tan. Jollibee gradually expanded its product portfolio to venture into the burger business. From 2 outlets in 1975, the brand has come a long way and today has more than 400 outlets in Philippines alone and 24 outlets in 7 countries including the US, China and Hong Kong.
A whopping 69% choose Jollibee compared to a mere 16% for McDonald's of the entire fast food population in the Philippines.
What is the secret behind the Jollibee brand?
Many factors have contributed to its rapid and sustained success. The most important one is Jollibee's in-depth consumer knowledge of the Filipino taste buds. When McDonald's entered the Philippines, it offered its standard menu to the Filipinos. Jollibee was quick to offer customized menu that suited Filipino's tastes. That was the starting point. Jollibee added friendly staff and service around its core products. The company created a family ambiance in all of the outlets as it realized that a Filipino family revolves around its children. On top of this was the fact that Jollibee was a home grown brand, owned and managed by Filipinos. This created the strong emotional bond between the fast food brand Jollibee and its loyal customers.
By combining excellent service, a pleasant ambiance with an enticing menu, the Jollibee brand has been able to leverage its home grown status to the hilt.
Sponsored by: The Brand Positioning Workshop
The key here is adhering to your customers wishes and not your own. McDonald's didn't adapt their menu for the Filipino diet and suffered financially because of it.
Sometimes doing your market research is far more valuable then just bull charging in and getting a presence in the market.
Posted by: Stuart Foster | May 27, 2009 at 09:20 AM
This story just continues to show how any business in any country can be successful by listening and understanding their customer base. Then provide the services that will set you apart and let your customers know that you care.
Posted by: Brandon R Allen | May 28, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Interesting, I could tell right away by looking at the Jollibee website what they did. As Stuart mentioned, they customized meals around what the Filipinos are used to eating, with a touch of burger.
Showing knowledge of a culture and using familiarity are excellent ways to set a foothold in a market. Great post.
Posted by: Danielle Lynn | November 05, 2010 at 03:00 PM