Julie’s Bakeshop, a brand now deeply embedded in Filipino culture, didn’t begin as a grand business plan. It started with a crisis—a struggling family livelihood—and one mother’s determination to rise above it. That mother was Julie Gandionco. And with grit, intuition, and an eye for opportunity, she turned a simple need into one of the Philippines’ most successful homegrown bakery chains.
“The business was started by my mother, a naturally entrepreneurial woman,” said Joseph Gandionco, CEO of Julie’s Bakeshop, in an exclusive interview with Financial Adviser PH. “In the early 1980s, our family was going through a difficult time as our livelihood, which was tied to the sugarcane industry, was struggling.”
With limited options, Julie took the first job she could find—as a canteen concessionaire for three cafeterias in one of Cebu’s major companies. Her resilience and resourcefulness soon began to shine. But it wasn’t long before she noticed something that would change the course of her life.
“She noticed a consistent, high demand for bread, especially during snack hours,” Joseph explained. “To meet this demand, she would regularly purchase bread from nearby panaderias. One day, a member of her team suggested—why not put up her own bakeshop?”
It was a bold suggestion. Julie had no background in baking. But what she lacked in experience, she made up for in courage. She took the idea seriously, learned the trade, and on January 6, 1981, opened the very first Julie’s Bakeshop store in Mandaue, Cebu.
“From that humble beginning, the business grew—first across Cebu, and eventually expanding into what is now a nationwide network of over 600 stores,” Joseph said.
Julie didn’t have investors or venture capital behind her. What she did have was determination, a strong work ethic, and a fierce belief in the power of reinvesting what little she had.
“My mother used whatever modest resources were available at the time,” Joseph said. “There was no big investor or funding round—just grit, reinvested earnings from her canteen concession work, and lots of resourcefulness.”
But Julie’s vision was never about personal gain alone. She built her business to uplift not just her family, but also her community.
“Ms. Julie, my mother, has always been grounded on not helping her family but those in her community,” Joseph noted. “It was primarily to help with the family but at the same time she saw an opportunity in the market to provide a neighborhood bakeshop that can provide quality, fresh and value-for-money bread that customers can enjoy.”
This community-first approach became the foundation of the Julie’s brand—offering fresh, affordable bread while becoming part of the daily rhythm of Filipino life. From pandesal in the morning to ensaymada for merienda, Julie’s became more than a store. It became part of the neighborhood.
Joseph, inspired by what his mother built, became the first among his siblings to join the business full-time.
“I was inspired by both my parents to pursue a path in business,” he shared. “Among my siblings, I was the first to join our family’s bakeshop enterprise, working closely with my mother in establishing and setting up the early stores.”
The decision wasn’t driven by a single epiphany—but by witnessing, day after day, the impact of Julie’s on the lives of real people.
“It wasn’t a lightning bolt moment, but more of a gradual realization,” Joseph said. “The more time I spent working alongside my mother building it from the ground up, the more I saw the impact Julie’s was making—not just in terms of livelihood, but in how it brought comfort and familiarity to neighborhoods.”
“I knew then that this was more than just a business—it was something I wanted to help grow and sustain for the long haul.”
What began as a response to hardship became a legacy. Julie’s Bakeshop isn’t just a Filipino success story—it’s a tribute to a mother’s determination, a son’s dedication, and the everyday magic of freshly baked bread.
