Canada’s Agriculture Minister, Ambassador Visit Jollibee Group Headquarters in Manila

Tanmantiong and Minister MacAulay strike a pose with Jollibee.

The Jollibee Group, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong, recently welcomed the Canadian Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman, and other key Canadian government and industry officials to its headquarters in Pasig City, Philippines. 

Minister MacAulay’s visit is part of Canada’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Philippines and explore other areas of collaboration, in line with the 75th anniversary of Philippine-Canadian relations. 

“It is a privilege to host The Honorable Minister MacAulay, His Excellency Ambassador Hartman, and the Canadian delegation to the Jollibee Group. This comes at an opportune time as we recently opened our 100th Jollibee store in North America, right in Canada’s British Columbia. We thank the Canadian people for welcoming us since day one of our first store opening. Their warm and ever-increasing patronage gives us more joy to expand in Canada and North America, which is a key pillar of our global expansion.” ~Ernesto Tanmantiong, Chief Executive Officer of the Jollibee Group

Jollibee Group President & CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong (third from left) welcomes the Canadian Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay (fourth from left), Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman (sixth from left), and other members of the Canadian delegation to Jollibee Group’s headquarters in Pasig City, Philippines.

“During my visit to the Philippines and Malaysia, I had the pleasure of meeting with a number of food companies that source our world-class Canadian agricultural products, including the wonderful folks at Jollibee. With the opening of our first-ever Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office, we are cementing our presence in the region for years to come and boosting trade and cooperation on both sides of the Pacific.” ~Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. 

During the meeting, Minister MacAulay underscored Canada’s commitment to helping build resilient, sustainable supply chains in the region as part of its Indo-Pacific Agriculture strategy. 

Alongside Minister MacAulay and Ambassador Hartman were the Honorable Kevin Lamoureux, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the House of Commons; Paul MacKinnon, President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency; and other key representatives from Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry. Mr. Tanmantiong was joined by William Tan Untiong, Chief Business Support Officer; Joseph Tanbuntiong, Jollibee Group Chief Business Officer; David Beal, Global Chief Marketing Officer; Ferns Yu, President of Jollibee Philippines; and other representatives from Jollibee brand and Jollibee Group procurement.

To cap off the visit, the Canadian delegation made a brief stop at Jollibee’s 1000th Philippine store at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. They were warmly treated to a Jolly Kids Party, which, for many members of the delegation, also served as their very first taste of Jollibee’s bestsellers such as Chickenjoy fried chicken and Jolly Spaghetti.

The Canadian delegation was treated to a mini Jolly Kids party at Jollibee’s 1000^th store in BGC. Many delegation members would get their first taste of the brand’s signature Chickenjoy fried chicken, Jolly Spaghetti, and other products during the visit.

Jollibee’s Presence in Canada

Jollibee opened its first store in Canada in Winnipeg in 2016, and currently has 28 stores across the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. 

Canada is also home to Jollibee’s 100th store in North America, which the brand recently opened in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, last January. The opening attracted huge crowds who waited hours to taste their Jollibee favorites, a testament to the brand’s strong equity and delicious offerings. The long queue was reminiscent of the first Canada store opening in Winnipeg, where people waited amidst heavy snowfall and sub-zero weather.

Recently, Jollibee has been recognized as the second fastest-growing restaurant brand and 5th strongest brand in the world by Brand Finance, a leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy.

About Jollibee Group 

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. Its mission is to serve great-tasting food and bring the joy of eating to everyone through its 18 brands with over 6,800 stores across 33 countries including the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Australia. 

The Jollibee Group has eight wholly owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); four franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines, and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee; and 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand. JFC also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.

The Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 92% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. The Jollibee Group has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. Recently, the Jollibee Group has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company that will own and operate Tiong Bahru Bakery and Common Man Coffee Roasters in the Philippines. 

The Jollibee Group has launched its global sustainability agenda dubbed Joy for Tomorrow, which aims to strengthen the company’s commitment to sustainable business practices. The agenda centers on the key pillars of Food, People, and Planet, and consists of 10 focus areas namely: food safety, food quality, nutrition & transparency, employee welfare, farmers livelihood, community support, good governance, packaging & recycling, waste reduction, and energy & water efficiency. Each focus area sets goals and initiatives that contribute and align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The Jollibee Group was named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia's Fab 50 Companies and among the World's Best Employers and World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies by Forbes. The company is also a two-time recipient of Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the only Philippine-based company to receive the distinction. 

To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com