The Philippines loves Jollibee. Overseas Filipinos love it even more

2026-03-29 - 05:02

No fast-food chain has ever meant quite what Jollibee means to Filipinos. Forget McDonald’s and KFC, Jollibee – with its sweet spaghetti and crispy Chickenjoy – is something else entirely: a cultural anchor for a diaspora scattered across every continent on Earth. With more than a million Filipinos leaving the Philippines every year in search of greener pastures abroad, the chain has followed them almost everywhere they have gone, building a brand that taps into deep emotions by offering a taste...