Branded coffee chains now comprise more than half of the Filipino food giant’s global store network, with South Korea’s Compose Coffee, Singapore-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Vietnam’s Highlands Coffee all achieving outlet growth over the last 12 months
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf operates 1,232 outlets across 24 markets | Photo credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Jollibee Foods Corp (JFC) has highlighted coffee segment growth as a key driver behind robust 2024 earnings.
The Filipino food giant achieved 10.6% year-on-year revenue growth in the 12 months ended 31 December 2024 to reach P270bn ($4.7bn), with EBITDA increasing 17% to P16.9m ($295m).
JFC opened 326 net new stores across its global portfolio of 19 foodservice brands to reach 9,776 outlets. The group’s café segment now comprises 52% of total stores following the $238m acquisition of South Korea’s Compose Coffee in the third quarter of 2024 and net outlet growth for its The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) and Highlands Coffee chains.
In a press release, Manila-based JFC said its international reporting segment achieved 17.6% system-wide-sales growth in 2024, with CBTL, Highlands Coffee and Compose Coffee contributing 16%, 13% and 8% respectively.
Value-focused Compose Coffee is the largest brand in JFC’s foodservice portfolio by outlets, with more than 2,600 stores in South Korea, alongside two international sites in Singapore.
JFC acquired CBTL for $350m in July 2019. Following successive years of net store closures, the Singapore-based coffee chain turned a corner in the fourth quarter of 2022 and has delivered consistently strong sales for JFC over the last two years.
CBTL achieved 7% like-for-like sales growth in 2024 and opened 68 net new stores to reach 1,232 outlets across 24 markets. Vietnamese coffee chain Highlands Coffee posted a 3.7% decline in like-for-like sales last year, but did open 71 net new stores across the 12 months to reach 850 outlets – 43 of which are in the Philippines.
JFC’s café segment also includes 336-store Taiwanese bubble tea chain Milksha and Singaporean brands Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR) and Tiong Bahru Bakery, which it franchises as part of a joint venture with Food Collective Pte. Ltd.
The group’s largest non-café brands include Jollibee and the fast-food chains Greenwich Pizza, Smashburger and Chowking.
JFC is seeking to open 700-800 net new stores across its brand portfolio in 2025 and forecasts group sales growth will reach 8%-12% in the year ahead.