What started as a homegrown Filipino food business has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-expanding restaurant groups, earning Jollibee Group a major international recognition for its aggressive but disciplined push into global markets.
Jollibee Group has been named Global Growth Champion at the inaugural Globie Awards, the awards program of the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference, highlighting the Philippine-founded company’s transformation into a global restaurant player with more than 10,700 stores and cafés across 33 countries.
The company emerged as the clear winner from 12 brand nominees, securing more than 74 percent of votes from the awards’ advisory panel.
The recognition comes as Jollibee Group continues to broaden its international footprint through a portfolio of 20 brands spanning owned, franchised and invested businesses. Its expansion strategy has increasingly moved beyond simply exporting Filipino brands, combining organic growth, franchising, acquisitions and investments to build a diversified global restaurant business.
Jonathan Maze, editor in chief of Restaurant Business, said Jollibee Group stood out among the nominees for successfully evolving from a popular Filipino brand into an international restaurant powerhouse.
“Jollibee Group’s win as our 2026 Global Growth Champion is both decisive and well-deserved,” Maze said, noting that the company has pursued international expansion through a diversified portfolio and strategies tailored to local communities and cultures.
That approach has become central to Jollibee Group’s global ambitions. Rather than relying on a single brand or market, the company has built a wider restaurant ecosystem designed to reach different consumer segments and dining occasions across multiple geographies.
Its international growth strategy is anchored on strengthening individual brands, expanding in priority markets and maintaining operational discipline as the business scales.
For Jollibee Group Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Digital Marketing David Beal, the award reflects more than the sheer number of restaurants the company has opened overseas.
“This award recognizes not only the scale of Jollibee Group’s international expansion, but also the strength and discipline behind it,” Beal said.
He stressed that sustainable global growth requires brands that connect with local consumers, capable operating teams, committed franchisees and partners, and consistent execution across markets.
“Growing across markets requires more than opening stores,” Beal said. “That is the foundation we continue to build as we grow Jollibee Group into a truly global restaurant company.”
The Global Growth Champion title also underscores how far the company has traveled from its Philippine roots. From building a dominant domestic restaurant business, Jollibee Group has steadily assembled an increasingly international portfolio while expanding its presence in major markets around the world.
Its network of more than 10,700 locations across 33 countries now gives the company significant scale as it pursues its goal of becoming one of the world’s leading restaurant companies.
The Globie Awards recognize companies and executives demonstrating excellence in restaurant leadership, international growth, innovation and operational impact.
Jollibee Group will formally receive the Global Growth Champion award during the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference in November 2026, putting another global spotlight on a Philippine-born company increasingly making its mark on the international dining industry.