Tony Tan Caktiong – Jollibee

Tony Tan Caktiong used to operate an ice cream parlor, before converting it into a fast
food restaurant called Jollibee. With a starting capital of P350,000, the young
Caktiong opened two branches in Cubao and Quiapo, together with friends who
supported his idea. 
Caktiong decided to serve hamburgers, fried chicken, and spaghetti to customers
when they started looking beyond the usual ice cream. Eventually, the business grew,
and he had to hire more employees. By knowing the Filipino market, Jollibee
managed to excel as a fast food powerhouse.

Edgar Sia – Mang Inasal

Hailing from Iloilo City, Edgar Sia dropped out of college to pursue his own laundry
and photo-developing business at the age of 19. In 2003, 26-year old Sia decided to
open the barbecue fast food restaurant Mang Inasal—Ilonggo for “Mr. Barbecue.”
The first branch was built at a mall parking lot in his home city.
The restaurant took off. When Tony Caktiong heard about Sia’s burgeoning business,
he decided to buy Mang Inasal for a total of P5 billion. Sia eventually put the sales of
Mang Inasal to other investments like banking and healthcare. At 42, he’s considered
the country’s youngest billionaire.

Cresida Tueres – Greenwich Pizza

In 1971, Cresida Tueres started Greenwich as a small over-the-counter pizza store in
Greenhills. Tueres had a knack for cooking. Her friends loved the food she served so
much that they decided to buy their own Greenwich franchise. 
Impressed with Tueres’s business acumen and the growth of Greenwich, Jollibee
Foods Corporation obtained a deal in 1994 to acquire 80% of Greenwich’s
shareholding. Since then, the pizza parlor branched out to include other dishes in its
menu. In 1997, Greenwich had a record sale of P1 billion.

Milagros, Clarita, and Doris Leelin – Goldilocks

With only two cake displays and ten employees, Milagros, Clarita, and Doris Leelin
started Goldilocks at a 70-sq-m building space in Makati. Sisters Milagros and Clarita
loved baking and decided to pursue their passion into business. With the help of their
sister-in-law Doris, the Leelins opened their first branch.
In 1991, Goldilocks launched its franchising program. As of 2015, the bakeshop chain
had almost 400 stores across the country, with other branches in the USA, Canada,
and Southeast Asia. From a modest capital of P66,000, Goldilocks is now a multi-
million food enterprise with more than 4,000 employees.
Asiang Reyes – The Aristocrat
In the 1930s, Asiang Reyes started The Aristocrat as a mobile canteen in Luneta,
serving sandwiches filled with adobo and other Filipino viands. Hotdog trucks were in
vogue at that time. Reyes created her own version of merienda for park-goers. 
Reyes was supposed to name the canteen “Andy” after her eldest son, but changed it
to Aristocrat instead. The canteen prospered, and Reyes and her husband decided to
turn it into a full-time restaurant.
The young Magsaysay left school to bust tables, wash plates, and work on the cash
register at a fast food chain. In a few years, he became a manager, handling five
stores. 
With his background and skills in store management, Magsaysay’s friends asked him
to handle Potato Corner, of which he was a co-founder. They pooled their money
together and started the food cart business in 1992, offering franchises left and right.
Today, Potato Corner has more than 550 stalls in the Philippines and around the
world.

Asiang Reyes – The Aristocrat

In the 1930s, Asiang Reyes started The Aristocrat as a mobile canteen in Luneta,
serving sandwiches filled with adobo and other Filipino viands. Hotdog trucks were in
vogue at that time. Reyes created her own version of merienda for park-goers. 
Reyes was supposed to name the canteen “Andy” after her eldest son, but changed it
to Aristocrat instead. The canteen prospered, and Reyes and her husband decided to
turn it into a full-time restaurant.

Araceli and Jun Manas – Hen Lin

Using the recipes they learned from a Chinese chef and a capital of P30,000, Araceli
and Jun Manas started Hen Lin in 1983. Jun worked for an insurance firm while his
wife Araceli worked in a bank. The couple had to learn the intricacies of the business
themselves. At night, they practiced making siomai or dumplings. 
The Manas couple opened the first Hen Lin store in SM Makati, which was well
received for its delicious dim sum offerings. 30 years on, Hen Lin is popular in many
malls, offering various products such as hopia, noodles, congee, rice toppings, and
breakfast food. 

Richard Sanz - Bibingkinitan

Bibingkinitan has proven that bibingka isn’t only in demand during the
holiday season. What Bibingkinitan banks on is the bite-size serving
portions (the other half of the business’ name, balingkinitan meaning
small or petite) of this heritage product, making it an all-year-round
kind of food offering. 
Started in 2006 with an initial investment of P100,000, Bibingkinitan
owner Richard Sanz’s original idea was to start a beverage business
centered on tea. But after seeing that Filipinos were more inclined
to coffee, he thought of a better way to tap the local market,
pairing bibingka with kapeng barako and calling it BibiKape.
Aside from the usual margarine-topped bibingka, Sanz also introduced
flavors like macapuno, ube, pastillas and peanut butter. The brand now
has more than 200 stores nationwide as well as in Dubai, Qatar and
various countries in Asia.

Maximo Gimenez - MAX’S RESTAURANT

When Maximo Gimenez befriended American soldiers after World War

II, they kept stopping by his home to get a drink or two. Because they
came back frequently, they insisted that they pay for what they were
consuming. This led Gimenez to start his café, initially serving chicken,
steak and drinks. Later on becoming “the house that fried chicken built,”
Max’s Restaurant’s special chicken recipe has reached countries like the
US, Australia and Canada. Soon enough the restaurant was able to add
more Filipino dishes to their menu such as sinigang, kare-kare, and
lumpiang ubod. The brand believes that what helped them grow is
its personal connection to food, how it is deeply rooted in Philippine
cuisine and how the group is translating culture into their food. In
1998, Max’s Restaurant opened its doors to franchising. 

Eric Puno, Henry Lee and Albert Tan = YELLOW CAB PIZZA

In 2001, the idea of bringing New York-style pizza to the Philippines

gave birth to Yellow Cab Pizza. It’s known for the signature pizza
and pasta dishes as well as the famous yellow scooter delivery system.
Now, over 130 branches nationwide are operating; Yellow Cab also has
branches in the US, Guam, Malaysia and the Middle East. It is also
successful in being the first pizza chain to operate 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.