By James A. Loyola

Jollibee Foods Corporation is opening the first Jollibee store in the United Kingdom on October 20 — the latest wave of branches the firm is opening abroad as part of an aggressive expansion program.

Aside from the Jollibee UK store, more stores in cities such as Macau and New York are also to be inaugurated this year, said Jollibee in a statement.

In a display of solidarity and Filipino pride, Philippine cabinet secretaries made a visit to the first-ever Jollibee store in United Kingdom, a month before its scheduled grand opening.

The visit coincided with the Philippine Economic Briefing in UK, where government officials presented before the UK-ASEAN Business Council the latest updates on various government programs.

Present during the store visit were Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Public Works and Highway Secretary Mark Villar, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon, Congresswoman Pia Cayetano, Congressman Wes Gatchalian, and Philippine Ambassador to the UK Antonio Manuel Lagdameo.

The officials were welcomed by Jollibee Foods Corporation Chief Executive Ernesto Tanmantiong, and President and Head of Jollibee International Business for Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia Dennis Flores.

“We are truly delighted and excited to be opening and introducing Jollibee to this part of the world. As we have done in other markets such as Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, and Hong Kong, we envision to successfully serve the delicious food and warm service of Jollibee not only to the Filipino community here but also to the local British people of the United Kingdom,” said Tanmantiong.

Ambassador Daniel Robert Pruce, UK Ambassador to the Philippines, also visited the store as a sign of support from the British community.

Jollibee Foods Corporation is the parent company of Jollibee, and has 12 brands with over 4000 stores across 20 countries and continues to expand its network beyond the Philippines as it targets to even the split between its domestic and foreign sales.

In 2013, Jollibee Foods Corporation became the number one restaurant company in Asia in terms of market capitalization. Now the world’s largest Asian Restaurant Company, the fast food giant is aspiring to be among the Top Five Largest Restaurant Companies in the world.