TLDR
Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee will open 35 restaurants across New South Wales and Victoria under two exclusive franchise agreements, backed by an A$60 million investment and about 900 direct jobs. The deals were announced in Manila on 15 November 2026 during the Prime Minister's visit for the ASEAN Summit.
Two franchise partners, two states, 35 stores
Philippine fast-food company Jollibee will enter the Australian market through two separate exclusive franchise agreements, one covering New South Wales and the other covering Victoria, with a total of 35 restaurants planned across the two states within five years. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jollibee Global President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong announced the agreements at a Jollibee restaurant in Manila on 15 November 2026, during the Prime Minister's visit for the ASEAN Summit.[1]
Happy Food Group holds the exclusive Victorian franchise under one of the two agreements and Lucky Bee Australia holds the exclusive New South Wales agreement under the other. Neither official announcement identified the location of a first Australian site or set an opening date for the initial store planned under the agreements.[2]
Investment and jobs
Tanmantiong said the two franchise partners aim to open 35 stores within five years, a planned rollout representing an estimated A$60 million investment and roughly 900 direct jobs for Australians.[2] Albanese put the broader employment figure higher, saying the deal would generate "literally thousands of jobs in Australia" once supply-chain effects were counted.[2]
No financial projections showing the expected performance of individual stores were included in either official announcement.[2] The diplomatic setting gave the signing added weight, with both governments seated at the same regional summit table at the time the deal was confirmed.[4]
Who Jollibee is and what it sells
Jollibee operates more than 1,600 stores across 17 countries and ranks as the Philippines' largest restaurant company.[1] Its menu centres on fried chicken, burgers and a sweet-style spaghetti that distinguishes the brand from Western quick-service rivals; in the Australian market, that menu puts Jollibee directly against entrenched chains including KFC and McDonald's.
Albanese said: "Food brings people together, and Jollibee is a great example of the cultural connections that strengthen our relationship with the Philippines."[1] Tanmantiong, identified as Global President and Chief Executive Officer by Jollibee Group, led the company's side of the announcement in Manila.[5]
A built-in customer base
More than 400,000 people living in Australia were born in the Philippines, making it the country's fifth-largest diaspora community, according to the Prime Minister's office.[3] That community gives Jollibee an immediate customer base in the Australian market before the brand attempts to broaden its appeal to Australians unfamiliar with Filipino fast food.
The planned expansion also tests whether products strongly associated with Filipino food culture can sustain the volume needed to run 35 restaurants profitably across the two states in a competitive quick-service market; a first store location has yet to be announced.[2]
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