The Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) is in Taipei to help boost international expansion opportunities for Philippine franchises such as restaurant chain Jollibee, and promote Franchise Asia Philippines 2023.
At the 2023 Taipei International Chain and Franchise Spring Exhibition, which kicked off at the Taipei World Trade Center Friday, the PFA booth featured information about Philippine franchises for Taiwanese and overseas visitors.
PFA Chairperson Sherill Quintana told CNA her association’s participation enabled it to help Philippine franchises that are exploring overseas expansion opportunities as well as help Taiwanese franchises that want to go to the Philippines.
One of the Philippine franchises being promoted at the PFA booth is Filipino fast food chain Jollibee, which has more than 900 restaurants worldwide.
Jollibee is popular among Filipino communities around the world because many Filipinos have grown up eating at Jollibee and it reminds them of home, according to Quintana.
“It is worth noting that 10 percent of Filipinos work overseas. These overseas Filipinos, in turn, have become the initial market for Jollibee outlets that went overseas,” Quintana said.
In Taiwan, there were 154,806 Filipino migrant workers in the country at the end of 2022, according to the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Labor.
“Filipinos love to eat and are family oriented. Jollibee knows that, hence in their branding and marketing campaigns, they’re geared towards attracting children who in turn pull families together to eat at Jollibee,” Quintana said.
“Jollibee’s mascot represents their culture of hard work yet is always jolly much like Filipinos, hence they resonate with their brand deeply,” he added.
Quintana also said that PFA is also in Taiwan to invite exhibitors to join the Franchise Asia Philippines 2023 expo which is scheduled to be held from Oct. 27-29 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines.
“This will be a great opportunity for exhibitors to get potential franchisees not only in the Philippines but also overseas,” Quintana said.
The 2023 Taipei International Chain and Franchise Spring Exhibition will run until Monday.
While in Taiwan, the PFA will also conduct a franchise seminar for the Filipino community to encourage them to invest in legitimate business opportunities through franchise, Anthony B. Rivera, director for Commercial Affairs, Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Taipei, told CNA.
The franchise seminar will be held on Sunday at the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which is headed by Chairman Silvestre H. Bello III.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel