Anthony Albanese Digs Into Chickenjoy in Manila as Jollibee Confirms Australian Expansion
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese got a taste of Filipino fast food on Sunday, November 15, sitting down to a bucket of Chickenjoy at a Jollibee branch in Manila while in the country for the ASEAN Summit.
The visit was more than a food trip. Albanese used it to announce that the Philippines’ biggest restaurant company is finally opening stores in Australia, The Manila Times reported.
According to the Australian Prime Minister’s office, Albanese joined Jollibee Global President and CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong to mark two franchise agreements. Based on the official transcript of their remarks, the deals were signed that morning: Happy Food Group will bring Jollibee to Victoria, while Lucky Bee Australia will handle New South Wales.
Tanmantiong said the partners aim to open 35 stores within five years, representing an estimated A$60 million in investment and around 900 jobs. Comparing the Filipino value of bayanihan with the Australian idea of mateship, he declared, “Today, bayanihan meets mateship.”
Albanese also shared the news on Facebook. “Jollibee is coming to Australia. A taste of home for so many Filipino-Australians, opening up right across Sydney and Melbourne. Creating hundreds of jobs and bringing a little more Chickenjoy Down Under,” he wrote.
In his remarks at the restaurant, the prime minister said the brand would be a source of pride for Australians of Filipino heritage. “It is known when you see Jollibee anywhere in the world, you know that is Filipino success,” he said, adding that he had tried the food himself and found it “fantastic.”
Jollibee currently runs more than 1,600 stores in 17 countries. More than 400,000 people living in Australia were born in the Philippines, making Filipinos the country’s fifth-largest diaspora community, with Greater Sydney home to the biggest share, the PM’s office noted. Australian outlet 7NEWS also described the chain as having a cult following around the world.
The Jollibee stop came on the sidelines of Albanese’s Manila trip, during which the Philippines and Australia also signed a new defense cooperation agreement.
For many Filipino families in Australia, the long wait for their favorite Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti closer to home is finally coming to an end.
