Korean fried chicken franchises go overseas amid local market saturation

[Courtesy of Genesis BBQ Co.]

South Korean fried chicken companies are riding the Korean wave to expand overseas as the domestic market becomes saturated.

According to multiple industry sources on Tuesday, major fried chicken franchise companies such as Genesis BBQ Co., BHC Co., and Kyochon F&B Co. have opened 827 stores overseas, including in the United States and Southeast Asia.

The number of fried chicken franchise stores in Korea has increased slightly in 2022 but the growth has slowed.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of fried chicken stores stood at 29,348 in 2022, up 2.5 percent from the previous year. The growth has slowed from 6.3 percent in 2020 and 4.8 percent in 2021.

Believing that the domestic market has reached its saturation point, fried chicken companies are looking to expand overseas.

The global popularity of Korean culture, including movies and dramas, has boosted the demand for fried chicken and other Korean food.

Genesis BBQ has been aggressively entering the U.S. market.

The company opened BBQ LA Hollywood in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Los Angeles, with a population of 3.82 million and 10 million annual tourists, is an ideal location. The new store is just 500 meters from the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, ensuring high foot traffic.

Genesis BBQ currently operates stores in 28 U.S. states, including New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Georgia, Hawaii, and Nebraska, with over 250 stores in the U.S. alone.

Earlier this month, the company opened a new store in La Chorrera, Panama. It operates over 700 stores in 57 countries worldwide, an increase from around 500 stores at the end of 2022.

The company‘s direct overseas sales totaled 110 billion won last year, up 69 percent from the previous year.

BHC, in the meantime, saw a 334 percent increase in overseas sales in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

The company opened its first store in Thailand in January and expanded to six stores within six months. It aims to open four more by the end of this year.

BHC operates over 20 overseas stores in five countries: U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

Kyochon F&B recently opened its third directly operated Kyocho store in Hangzhou, China.

Kyochon operates 73 stores in six countries. Its overseas sales last year totaled 17.8 billion won, up 11 percent from two years ago. Its overseas sales accounted for 4 percent of the entire sales last year, up from 3 percent from two years ago.

GN Food Co.’s Goobne Chicken also operates 39 stores in 10 countries, including the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, China, and Malaysia. The company has been accelerating its U.S. expansion, opening its fourth store in Korea Town in Los Angeles in April.

Mom’s Touch & Co. also operates six stores in Thailand and Mongolia each, and one in Japan.