Farmer Entrepreneurship Program of the Jollibee Group Foundation: Enabling Growth, Sharing Joy

Tony Tan Caktiong, Chairman and Founder of the Jollibee Group, decided to explore a bold and excellent idea in 2008. What if the corporation bought directly from farmers, giving them a predictable and steady market to sell to? This stems from a knowledge that, despite the fact that agriculture is one of the country’s most important sectors, farmers remain among the country’s most vulnerable people, with a lack of chances and resources preventing them from earning a better income. The Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF), the company’s social development arm, was then tasked with turning the concept into the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), which would later connect small-scale farmers to their supply chain.

White onions, green bell peppers, tomatoes, and other veggies used at Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, and Mang Inasal are now sourced directly from local farmers around the Philippines. In a video essay released recently by JGF, we get a look at how over 500 farmers from 17 farmer groups have Grown with Delight and earned their place in big markets.

Enabling Growth

At the heart of FEP is a stack of interventions that help farmers sharpen their technical skills and business acumen. JGF starts by partnering with organizations across the country to help farmers form clusters, so they can collectively meet the volume and quality requirements of big buyers and market their produce.

In 2018, JGF developed a training program to train Agro-entrepreneurship Facilitators who guide farmer groups towards becoming farmer entrepreneurs. This year, JGF brought this training program online in partnership with Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan entitled “Agro-Entrepreneurship for Inclusive Value Chains: An Introduction.”

As a group, FEP farmers can scale their operations, successfully maintain their status as Jollibee Group suppliers and find other markets. Growing and scaling means that farmer groups need to comply with standards such as the Philippine Good Agricultural Practices (PhilGAP) promoted by the Department of Agriculture.

A requirement of the Jollibee Group among its agriculture-based suppliers, PhilGAP guides farmers in addressing different aspects of on-farm production and post-production processes that result in safe and quality agricultural products.

Since 2009, FEP farmers have consolidated and delivered more than 7,000 metric tons or 700 truckloads of vegetables to the Jollibee Group, earning more than P300 million in total sales. Furthermore, 94% of FEP farmer groups are already GAP-certified as the others continue to work towards this milestone.

Sharing the joy

“It brings us real joy that We have helped hundreds of farmers embark on a journey to rediscover and even totally embrace farming. FEP has emboldened them to dream bigger and has given them the tools necessary to turn them into reality,’’ says Gisela Tiongson, JGF Executive Director.

Ligaya Miras, a farmer leader of Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Cebu City reflects on her journey. “Being an FEP farmer means I am not just a farmer, but also an entrepreneur.’’ She adds, “Farming is not just a source of livelihood. For me, it is a mission. If there are no farmers, who will feed people? I am proud to be a farmer.’’

From the white onions used in the Jollibee Yumburger, to the spring onions sprinkled on the Chowking Chao Fan, and the green bell peppers we enjoy in the Greenwich Hawaiian Overload Pizza—FEP farmers truly help spread the joy of eating among countless Filipinos every day.

Visit the Jollibee Group Foundation official Facebook Page at fb.com/JollibeeGroupFoundationInc to learn more about the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program and to view a video essay inspired by the growth of FEP farmers.

 

About Jollibee Group Foundation

As the social development arm of Jollibee Group, the Jollibee Group Foundation implements programs on agriculture, education, and disaster response with partner communities nationwide.

About Jollibee Group

Jollibee Group is one of the fastest-growing Asian restaurant companies in the world. It operates in 33 countries, with over 5,800 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, Italy, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Panama, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and India.

Jollibee Group has eight wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); five franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, and PHO24 in the Philippines; Dunkin’ and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee and PHO24; and 50% ownership in a joint venture established to operate and expand Yoshinoya in the Philippines. Yoshinoya is one of the largest and most recognized Japanese restaurant brands globally and is the company’s first-ever Japanese food chain.

Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 100% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that ultimately owns the Tim Ho Wan brand.  It also has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. Jollibee Group also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.

Jollibee Group was named the Philippines’ most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia’s Fab 50 Companies and among the World’s Best Employers by Forbes. In 2020, Gallup awarded the Jollibee Group with the Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the first Philippine-based company to receive the distinction.

Jollibee Group has grown brands that bring delightful dining experiences to its customers worldwide, in line with its mission of serving great tasting food and spreading the joy of eating to everyone.

To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com