bai2009
From Ice Cream Parlor to Fast Food Empire: Tony Tan Caktiong's Story
“From modest beginnings to the top of the world” are the words that succinctly sum up Tony Tan Caktiong’s story, today president and CEO of Jollibee® Foods Corporation, the biggest fast food restaurant chain in the Philippines.
Born in a poor family who migrated from southeastern China to the Philippines in search of a better life, he became involved in the restaurant business from an early age when his father opened a restaurant. The restaurant became profitable with the help of all family members and this success enabled Mr. Caktiong to pursue a degree in chemical engineering in Manila.
At the age of 22, inspired by a visit to an ice cream plant, he set out to gain his own foothold in the restaurant business: relying on family savings, he seized a franchising opportunity with Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream and opened two ice cream parlors. In response to customer requests, he added hot meals and sandwiches to the menu, which soon proved a lot more popular than ice cream. Three years later, in 1978, he decided to capitalize on this development, discontinued the Magnolia franchise and converted his parlors into fast food outlets.
Trademarks and Branding
Realizing that he needed a brand name and logo for his new business, Mr. Caktiong and his family decided on using a smiling red bee. They chose a bee because of its association with hard work, and because honey represents the sweet things in life. The “jolly” prefix was intended to connote happiness and enjoyment. Jollibee invested millions of pesos to register the “bee” trademark in the Philippines and other key countries.
Helped by smart marketing and advertising strategies, the mark struck a chord with the public: “From a rather crude, strange-looking bee that no bank dared to touch back in 1978, Jollibee and his cheeky smile today have become synonymous with a truly Filipino success story that is now a source of patriotic pride. It is estimated that the Jollibee brand is now worth several billion pesos”, Mr. Caktiong points out.
“Trademarks increased a lot of value to our business”, he explains. “To the consumer, they represent either trust in the company or trust in the brand…they will remember that the brand connotes very tasty food and also the experience, the ambiance, the service, and they are also proud to be a part of that brand”.
Today, Jollibee Foods Corporation uses 8 proprietary brands (including “Jollibee” for their core fast food business, “Greenwich” for their pizza and pasta chain, and “Chowking” for their oriental food outlets), owns many trademarks (including “Bee Happy”, “Yumburger”, “Chickenjoy” and “Amazing Aloha”) and has registered all of its logos, some of them in several countries.
Vegan ice cream
BUONO เริ่มเปิดตัวขึ้นเมื่อปี 2544 จากความหลงใหลในรสชาติของไอศกรีมอิตาเลียนแท้ และมิตรภาพของเพื่อนชาวอิตาเลียนที่ถ่ายทอดสูตรลับของความอร่อยของ Gelato แบบต้นตำรับ โดยนำเทคโนโลยีการผลิตไอศกรีมอิตาเลียนที่ทันสมัยมาผสมผสานกับจุดเด่นของพืชผลเกษตรไทย สร้างสรรค์จนได้ไอศกรีมที่มีเอกลักษณ์เฉพาะตัวไม่เหมือนใคร และเป็นผู้ริเริ่มร้านไอศกรีมอิตาเลียนรายแรกในไทย
IP Infringements and Enforcement
The strong Jollibee brand name and its positive connotations have made it a target for free-riders and counterfeiters: “We have some cases where people will do other things like garments or shoes and they call it “Jollibee”. Overseas, they will open a restaurant or a fast food also called Jollibee, even with the same drawing”, Mr. Caktiong reports.
Conscious of the importance of protecting their brand, Jollibee Foods Corporation reacts to trademark infringements: “We have to enforce [our trademarks] properly. If you do not enforce it properly, your brand image will get diluted over time”, he continues.
