Jollibee’s Pistachio Kunafa Sundae started as a local response to a fast-growing food trend in the UAE. It has since become a useful example of how localized product innovation can help Jollibee build relevance across its broader international business, which spans 16 countries.
The product was developed to make the Dubai Chocolate and pistachio kunafa trend — widely described as one of the most viral dessert trends of the decade — more accessible through a familiar Jollibee platform. By translating a premium, culturally relevant flavor into an everyday QSR dessert, Jollibee showed its ability to spot a major consumer trend early, move quickly, and turn it into a product that could drive trial, strengthen menu excitement and bring new energy to the sundae category.
The idea also showed its ability to travel. From the UAE, Jollibee also adapted the Pistachio Kunafa Sundae for Saudi Arabia (KSA) and for markets beyond the Middle East, including the UK, Italy and other international locations where the concept had strong consumer relevance.
“What makes these innovations meaningful is that they start with what customers in each market already enjoy,” said Dennis M. Flores, President of Jollibee Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia, “Pistachio Kunafa Sundae was born from a real food trend in the UAE, but it worked because our teams translated it into something accessible, familiar and unmistakably Jollibee. That same market-led approach is helping us build stronger relevance with local customers across the region.”
This approach reflects how Jollibee is building international growth with both consistency and adaptability. Signature products such as Chickenjoy fried chicken, Jolly Spaghetti and Peach Mango Pie remain the foundation of the brand’s global identity, while localized innovations give customers new reasons to try, revisit and engage with Jollibee in ways that reflect local tastes and cultural preferences.
The same pattern is evident in other markets. In Vietnam, Spicy Spaghetti strengthened a core Jollibee platform with a locally relevant spicy twist, helping grow the spaghetti category and support the market’s strong momentum. The concept, which originated in Malaysia, has since expanded to other Southeast Asian markets. Other launches show the same market-led approach at work: Spicy Nuggets gained traction in Brunei, while the UK’s Ube Cloud Crunch Sundae and K-Spicy Chicken Sandwich brought new energy to key menu categories.
These innovations are part of a broader growth formula built on local insight, sustained marketing support and consistent product quality. Jollibee is the No. 1 QSR chain in Vietnam, based on Euromonitor data, and also holds market leadership in Brunei — proof points of how strong local relevance and execution can translate into competitive strength.
As of June 2026, localized launches had energized their respective menu categories, from spaghetti in Vietnam to desserts in the UK, contributing significantly to overall sales growth in these markets.
These launches are also helping Jollibee broaden its mainstream customer base beyond the Filipino diaspora. Local, non-Filipino customers account for nearly 100% of patronage in Vietnam and Brunei, about 87% in the UK, 85% in Singapore and 70% in Hong Kong — expanding the brand’s addressable market and supporting long-term growth.
“Our goal is to build Jollibee into a truly global brand that is loved not only by Filipinos, but by people from different cultures and communities in every market we serve,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, Global President and Chief Executive Officer, Jollibee Group. “By combining global consistency with local relevance, we create more opportunities to grow sustainably and bring the joy of Jollibee to more people around the world.”
Jollibee’s Spicy Spaghetti builds on one of the brand’s signature menu platforms with a locally relevant spicy profile. Originating in Malaysia and gaining strong traction in Vietnam, the product shows how Jollibee adapts familiar favorites to local taste preferences across Southeast Asia.
Jollibee’s Ube Cloud Crunch Sundae positions the brand as the first QSR in the UK to launch an ube-flavored dessert, bringing a beloved Filipino flavor into an accessible mainstream format and showing how Jollibee is using localized innovation to build relevance with non-Filipino customers.
About Jollibee Group
Jollibee Foods Corporation (PSE: JFC) (the "Company") is one of the world’s fastest-growing restaurant companies, driven by its purpose of spreading joy through superior taste. It manages and operates a portfolio that includes 20 brands (the "Jollibee Group") with over 10,700 stores and cafés across 33 countries.
The Jollibee Group’s portfolio includes nine (9) wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger and Tim Ho Wan), five (5) franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, Yoshinoya, Common Man Coffee Roasters, and Tiong Bahru Bakery in the Philippines), and ownership stakes in other key brands like The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (80%), Compose Coffee (70%), Shabu All Day (70%), bubble tea brand Milksha (51%), and SuperFoods Group that operates Highlands Coffee (60%) The Company also has membership interests in Tortazo, LLC, along with Chef Rick Bayless, for Tortazo in the U.S., and in Botrista, a leader in beverage technology.
The Jollibee Group's global sustainability agenda, Joy for Tomorrow, underscores its commitment to sustainable business practices across food safety, employee welfare, community support, good governance, and environmental responsibility, among others. These focus areas are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
The Company has been recognized as the Philippines' Most Admired Company by the Asian Wall Street Journal, named one of Asia's Fab 50 Companies, and listed among Forbes' World’s Best Employers and Top Female-Friendly Companies. The Company is also a five-time Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award recipient and featured in TIME’s World’s Best Companies and Fortune’s Southeast Asia 500 List.
To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com
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