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Korean food

K-chicken chain BB.Q foresees stores quadrupling in N.America

Its US unit turned to black last year as the Korean chicken chain introduced an online order and delivery system during COVID-19

By Aug 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)

3 Min read

Customers eat Korean fried chicken at a BB.Q restaurant in Manhattan, New York (Courtesy of Genesis BBQ)
Customers eat Korean fried chicken at a BB.Q restaurant in Manhattan, New York (Courtesy of Genesis BBQ)

Gourmands in North America will be able to enjoy South Korean fried chicken more conveniently as BB.Q Chicken, the country’s leading franchise, expects the number of its restaurants in the region to quadruple next year on the growing popularity of K-food.

BB.Q’s sales in the US more than doubled to $73 million last year from $33 million in 2020, according to the company. The revenue was mere $28 million in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19.

The company has the most branches in the US among South Korean fried chicken chains with the current 150 stores, up from 101 in 2021 and 78 in 2020. It ranked No. 2 among the 25 fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US in a survey of Nation’s Restaurant News, an American trade publication on the foodservice industry.

“About 500 are lined up to open a BB.Q franchise store in the US. The number of restaurants in North America including Canada will surge to about 1,000, fourfold the current level,” said Yoon Hong-guen, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the South Korean operator of BB.Q, in a discussion with Ellen Park, an assemblywoman in the New Jersey Legislature.

Park on Aug. 12 visited the Genesis BBQ headquarters in Seoul to present Yoon with a plaque of thanks.

Yoon said the US unit turned to the black last year after continuous losses since 2006 when the company made inroads into the market.

“In the US market before COVID-19, most food except pizzas was consumed dining-in or takeaway,” Yoon said. “We introduced the chicken delivery and online order system in the US that have already been widely used in Korea to achieve such strong growth.”

AN EYE TO BEAT MCDONALD’S

The company, which is most active in overseas markets among South Korean chicken franchises, aims to open 50,000 restaurants worldwide by 2030, compared to some 500 branches in 57 countries such as China, Japan, Australia and Vietnam. It started its overseas business by opening a branch in China in 2003.

Yoon has repeatedly declared it aims to beat McDonald’s Corp., which operates about 37,000 restaurants around the world.

“It took 14 years for McDonald’s to open more than 1,000 stores, while BB.Q achieved that in four years from its foundation,” he said.

“It is the best opportunity now to target the global market as interest in South Korean culture and foods is growing worldwide,” Yoon stressed.

CONTRIBUTES TO LOCAL ECONOMY

BB.Q’s active expansion in the US created jobs and improve domestic consumption, local politicians and industry sources said. For example, BB.Q increased the number of employees at its US unit in New Jersey to 88 this year from 62 in 2021, while a new store hires three to 10 staff.
Ellen Park, an assemblywoman in the New Jersey Legislature (left), presents Yoon Hong-guen, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the South Korean operator of BB.Q, with a plaque of thanks on Aug. 12, 2022
Ellen Park, an assemblywoman in the New Jersey Legislature (left), presents Yoon Hong-guen, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the South Korean operator of BB.Q, with a plaque of thanks on Aug. 12, 2022

Park appreciated BB.Q’s investment, saying the company plays an important role in changing the local food culture in competition with major chicken brands such as Chick-fil-A, one of the largest American fast food restaurant chains specializing in chicken sandwiches, and KFC, a global fried chicken giant.

“Interest in K-food including Korean-style chicken has recently been rapidly growing among Americans,” Park said.

Senator Gordon Johnson of the New Jersey Legislature and others love the crispy texture and various Korean fried chicken flavors, Park said.

Write to Soo-Jung Ha at agatha77@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.
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