International Restaurant Chains Invading North America, Why Global Food Brands Like Jollibee Are Winning While U.S. Chains Stall on Innovation

 

Why Global Food Brands Like Jollibee Are Winning While U.S. Chains Stall on Innovation

By the Grocerant Guru®

For the better part of the past decade, North America has quietly become the most attractive growth market in global foodservice. Slowing population growth, rising labor costs, and mature real estate have challenged domestic restaurant chains—but those same pressures have created a wide-open runway for international restaurant brands built on food discovery, menu differentiation, and operational discipline.

No brand illustrates this moment better than Jollibee, the Philippines-based fried chicken powerhouse that is rapidly moving from cult favorite to mainstream disruptor across the U.S. and Canada.

Jollibee: A Case Study in Global-to-Local Growth

Jollibee’s 2025 transition from a corporate-only U.S. model to a hybrid franchise strategy marks a pivotal inflection point. Since launching franchising in March, the brand has delivered precisely what experienced operators seek in a mature market:

·       Average Unit Volumes (AUVs) exceeding $4.5 million, far above the U.S. QSR chicken category average of roughly $2.1–$2.4 million

·       Proven consumer demand that extends beyond ethnic enclaves into mainstream suburban trade areas

·       A menu that blends comfort familiarity (fried chicken) with global flavor cues (sweet-style marinades, gravy-forward sides, rice-based plates)

The opening of Jollibee’s first U.S. franchise in Queens, followed by multi-unit agreements in Staten Island, Sacramento, and Dallas–Fort Worth, underscores a broader truth: operators are chasing brands with built-in discovery appeal, not incremental line extensions of tired domestic concepts.

Jollibee Is Not Alone: Four Other Global Chains Winning in North America

Jollibee’s momentum is part of a much larger pattern. Several international brands are successfully penetrating North America by exploiting the same innovation gap left by legacy U.S. chains:

1.       Nando’s (South Africa / UK)
Flame-grilled peri-peri chicken transformed a commodity protein into a flavor-led experience. Nando’s U.S. units routinely outperform casual-dining chicken peers by emphasizing spice customization, fresh preparation, and experiential dining.

2.       Tim Hortons (Canada)
Long dismissed as “just coffee,” Tim Hortons has expanded aggressively in the U.S. by pairing value-driven beverages with globally inspired bakery and savory platforms—outflanking legacy donut chains that failed to modernize menus.

3.       Haidilao Hot Pot (China)
While many U.S. casual dining chains cut service to save labor, Haidilao doubled down on theater, hospitality, and communal dining, turning meals into social experiences that younger consumers actively seek.

4.       Pret A Manger (UK)
Pret capitalized on the convergence of foodservice and retail by delivering fresh, chef-driven food with speed—years ahead of U.S. chains now scrambling to retrofit similar “fast fresh” models.

The Core Issue: Lack of Innovation in U.S. Restaurant Chains

The success of these international brands highlights a painful reality for many U.S. legacy chains:

·       Menu innovation has slowed to LTO shuffling rather than platform reinvention

·       Flavor risk has been minimized, leaving consumers bored and disengaged

·       Operational efficiency has replaced culinary excitement as the primary growth lever

While global brands introduced new sauces, formats, proteins, and eating occasions, many U.S. chains spent the last decade debating drive-thru times, shrinking portions, and reducing labor. The result is predictable: customer migration toward brands that deliver discovery, authenticity, and emotional engagement.

In today’s food culture economy, consumers—especially Millennials and Gen Z—are not loyal to logos. They are loyal to newness, story, and flavor credibility. Jollibee wins because it offers something most U.S. chains no longer do: a reason to be curious.

Why Discovery Drives Migration

Food discovery is no longer accidental; it is intentional. Social media, food tourism, and global travel have trained consumers to expect cross-cultural menus and bold flavor profiles. International brands arrive with:

·       Deep culinary heritage rather than committee-built menus

·       Global supply chain leverage

·       Confidence to lead with differentiated food, not apologize for it

That combination creates instant relevance—and explains why Jollibee’s franchising pipeline is filling faster than many domestic brands with decades of U.S. presence.

Grocerant Guru® Insights: How to Build Food Discovery Into Your Brand

To compete in this new reality, U.S. restaurant chains must fundamentally rethink growth. Incrementalism is no longer enough.

1. Innovate Platforms, Not Promotions
Discovery comes from new eating occasions, sauces, formats, and meal constructions—not from rotating the same ingredients into limited-time offers.

2. Globalize Flavor, Localize Execution
Borrow globally, execute locally. Consumers want authenticity, but they also want accessibility. Jollibee proves you can do both at scale.

3. Treat Food as Media
Menus should spark conversation. If your food does not photograph well, share well, or travel well, it will not drive organic growth.

4. Design for Migration, Not Retention Alone
Legacy chains focus on keeping existing customers. Growth leaders focus on stealing customers by offering something competitors cannot.

5. Operational Excellence Must Enable Creativity
Efficiency should support innovation—not replace it. The best global brands pair discipline with imagination.

Final Thought from the Grocerant Guru®

International restaurant chains are not “invading” North America by accident. They are filling a vacuum created by years of underinvestment in food innovation by U.S. chains. Jollibee’s success is not about fried chicken—it is about joy, discovery, and courage in menu strategy.

Until U.S. restaurant brands rediscover how to excite consumers with food first, the global players will continue to eat their lunch—one bold, flavorful bite at a time.

Are you trapped doing what you have always done and doing it the same way?  Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.