Langhap Sarap, Bida ang Saya, Bee Happy, Ang Sarap Maging at Home these taglines sound very familiar to us right? But these are not just ordinary taglines because these were the keys used by a small ice cream shop in becoming a globally known fastfood brand today. Who would have thought that a little ice cream parlor in Cubao would become such a phenomenal hit with many generations of families? This is how Jollibee began before it achieved its peak of success. In fact, according to 8list.ph, Jollibee is the only fast-food brand in the world that was able to successfully sting the golden arches off the top spot. But who is Jollibee?Jollibee is another story of rags to riches. From being a small franchised ice cream parlor in Cubao, Tony Tan Caktiong developed his business in 1978 into a fast-food restaurant which catered hamburgers, spaghetti and chickens. He named it Jollibee, the combination of the adjective jolly and the insect bee. According to their website, www.jollibee.com.ph, Jollibee is the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, operating a nationwide network of over 750 stores. A dominant market leader in the Philippines, Jollibee enjoys the lions share of the local market that is more than all the other multinational brands combined.So why is Jollibee number one among Filipino families?The classy stores, built side by side, are a daring display of corporate pride, to show the world whos who in the fast-food chains war in the Philippines.Jollibee, however, did something surprising in its new architectural design. It embossed the word Langhap Sarap as an integral part of the stores architecture, fronting the street.

While the Filipino public has made Langhap Sarap a part of its vocabulary for appetizing food, advertising and marketing, people never got tired of discussing the merits of its phenomenal success.

There is a ritual involved in the way we Filipinos eat. Whether we lift the lid of the pot or slowly unwrap a hamburger sandwich, we first introduce ourselves to a meal by taking a big whiff of its aroma. This awakens our senses and our appetites. The complex aroma that promises good food is released by spices and condiments which are intrinsic to the Jollibee recipe and which is captured in their advertising by the local phrase, "langhap sarap." Literally, it means you can smell how delicious it tastes.

Jollibee has been the market leader since 1984. They have strived to maintain this leadership by subscribing to continuous improvement. As such, they have modernized their new and existing stores, even as they have continuously developed their operating systems and have sought out innovations in their processes. They have restructured their organization into decentralized strategic business units that have allowed them to be nimbler in responding to market demands.Through sustained marketing campaigns, they continue to create more reasons for their customers to return to their stores. Their highly efficient product development capability allows them to have new products and to improve existing products that whet the appetite of their customers. New and better promotions and powerful advertising campaigns seek to fill their stores with customers all the time. They also continue to strengthen our brand visibility, using attractive visual advertising tools.

The effort has paid off. Go show any Filipino child a picture of Jollibee and youll get instant recognition and name recall. In fact, the Jollibee mascot also appeals to children of other nationalities, specifically in countries where they operate.Jollibees strength in the fastfood industry is extended to its other business units: Greenwich, the countrys leading pizza and pasta chain; Chowking, the dominant player in the Chinese quick service restaurant segment; and Delifrance, a promising French-style specialty caf. All told, Jollibee and all these business units have a total of over 750 local outlets and some 30 international stores. Again, about half of these are franchised.Jollibee is now well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities here and abroad. Franchising will always play an important role in their search for these opportunities and, ultimately, in the realization of Jollibees dreams.All these initiatives have contributed to the strengthening of the Jollibee brand. From a rather crude, strange-looking bee that no bank dared to touch in 1978, Jollibee and his cheeky smile today has become synonymous to a truly Filipino success story that is now a source of patriotic pride. It is estimated the Jollibee brand is now worth several billion pesos.