Vietnam a key market for Jollibee Foods as Highlands Coffee eyes IPO

Vietnam is JFC’s second-largest market for Jollibee fried chicken outlets and its largest for Highlands Coffee.

As of the end of 2024, the company operated 213 Jollibee stores and 850 Highlands Coffee locations in the country.

Vietnam contributed 904 million pesos (US$46.71 million) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2024, up 20 percent from a year earlier.

Highlands Coffee alone generated more than 2.3 billion pesos ($118.83 million), up 4.5 percent year on year.

Highlands Coffee is majority-owned by SuperFoods Group, a Vietnam-based company in which JFC holds a 40-percent stake.

The brand has 716 company-operated stores in Vietnam and 134 franchised.

It also runs 50 franchised outlets in the Philippines.

David Thai, founder of Highlands Coffee and head of SuperFoods, said in April the company was working with investment banks to prepare for an IPO, with Vietnam’s stock exchange as the preferred listing venue.

Thai estimates Highlands holds over 30 percent of Vietnam’s branded coffee chain market and plans to expand to 9,000–10,000 stores.

JFC reported a 13-percent increase in global system-wide sales in 2024, with international markets rising 22 percent.

Same-store sales in Vietnam grew 16.8 percent, the fastest among its overseas markets, followed by China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

Same-store sales across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia grew nearly 17 percent, largely driven by Jollibee Vietnam’s 20-percent growth.

Among JFC’s coffee and tea brands, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf posted an 11.4-percent increase, Milksha rose 6.8 percent, while Highlands Coffee fell 3.7 percent.

SuperFoods’ total system sales declined 4.3 percent in 2024 due to intensified competition and macroeconomic pressures in Vietnam’s coffee segment.

As of March, JFC operated over 9,900 outlets globally, with 34 percent in the Philippines.

Despite a dip in first-quarter profit due to rising costs, the company plans to open 700–800 stores this year.

Vietnam’s fast-food sector has grown more competitive in recent years.

Jollibee entered the market in 2005, after KFC in 1997 and Lotteria in 1998. McDonald’s joined in 2014.

To localize offerings, chains have added rice meals, beef dishes and other local fare, and now also serve as venues for children’s parties and events.