Mom's Touch adds two new restaurants in Mongolia

South Korean homegrown burger and chicken brand Mom's Touch & Co. announced on Friday that it has recently opened its sixth and seventh stores in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

These stores mark the first franchise outlets in the country.

Mom's Touch plans to expand its presence in Mongolia to 20 stores by next year.

Despite Mongolia's GDP per capita being around 15% of South Korea's, the first four Mom's Touch stores in Mongolia have exceeded average monthly sales in South Korea, prompting the company to accelerate its franchise rollout.

"At the current rate, we expect to surpass KFC, the leading quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand in Mongolia, by next year," a representative from Mom's Touch said.

Mongolia is seen as a market with significant growth potential for Korean companies, thanks to its large young population and high affinity for Korean pop culture.

Mom's Touch entered the Mongolian market in April last year by signing a master franchise agreement with a local company.

Currently, Mom's Touch operates six stores each in Thailand and Mongolia, and one in Japan.

The company also plans to expand into Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan within this year.

Write to Sul-Li Jun at sljun@hankyung.com