Chicken franchise Cheogajip to add nine stores in Taiwan

Cheogajip will expand its Korean fried chicken dominance in the Taiwanese market with nine new stores this year.

A Cheogajip restaurant in Taiwan [CHEOGAJIP]

Chicken franchise Cheogajip will open nine additional stores in Taiwan within this year on the back of immense popularity of Korean fried chicken there.

Starting with its first store on Guangfu Road in Taipei in 2016, Cheogajip has increased its outlets to 52 across central and southern Taiwan, a rare feat for a chicken franchise to achieve in that particular market. The nine new stores will bring the total to 61 in Taiwan.

The franchise said it plans to expand the number to 110 by 2026.

Cheogajip's advance into Taiwan goes back to 2015, when it signed a master franchise agreement with Alwaysfood, an affiliate of Taiwanese food company Fwusow.

Its successful foray into the market can be attributed to the growing global trendiness of Korean food, particularly fried chicken, according to the company.

Currently, other Korean fried chicken franchise brands such as Nene, Kyochon and BBQ have stores in Taiwan, with Cheogajip operating the most.

The brand directly supplies the sauces and powders required for its chicken products from Korea, enabling its branches to create the same taste in Taiwan.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]