JOLLIBEE FOODS Corp. is building a new casual dining chain specializing on coffee and Italian ice cream using a newly acquired master franchise for a popular Korean brand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Wednesday, JFC said it had entered into a joint venture to obtain the local master franchise for ?Caffe Ti-Amo? (which means Coffee I love You). The joint venture will be 50-percent owned by JFC and 50-percent by local entrepreneur Pamela Tan and her siblings.

In the disclosure, JFC said that the joint venture partners were not related to the controlling shareholders of JFC.

The franchisor will be Caffe Ti-Amo Korea Co. Ltd., owner of the ?Caffe Ti-Amo? trademarks based in the Republic of Korea. The restaurant brand was established in Korea in 2006 and had grown its network to 269 stores to become a very successful chain, the disclosure said.

JFC said the joint venture, which will have an initial capital of P10 million, would develop and build a business around gelato and coffee.

?The joint venture plans to open in the Philippines mostly franchised stores and a few joint venture-owned stores,? the disclosure said.

JFC said the first of the ?Ti-Amo? stores would open in The Annex at SM North Edsa.?

Analysts said JFC?s entry into this new format was meant to diversify its brand offering and capture opportunities from a growing demand for gourmet coffee shops popularized by the likes of Starbucks. However, this new brand is seen offering a more affordable alternative to other foreign as well as homegrown coffee shop brands.

JFC operates the dominant fast-food service chain in the Philippines. As of end-March, it had a total of domestic 1,569 stores, 692 of which are under the flagship Jollibee brand, 401 under Chinese fast-food chain Chowking, 227 under pizzeria Greenwich, 211 under bakeshop Red Ribbon, 24 under European-inspired deli Delifrance and 14 under budget brand Manong Pepe?s.