K-Burgers and Pizzas, Becoming Global Trends

K-burgers and pizzas created by Korean franchises are expanding globally. As K-pop and K-food gain global recognition, preference for Korean restaurant brands has grown and Korean-style burgers and pizzas, unavailable locally, are becoming a huge draw, and they are captivating the tastes of overseas consumers.
According to the food industry, Lotteria’s first U.S. store, which opened in Fullerton, California, last month, attracted over 1,000 customers daily throughout the month. This figure rivals the average daily number of customers at Lotteria’s top five stores in Korea. An industry official stated, “This is a remarkable achievement in the home of burgers where McDonald’s and In-N-Out are dominating the market.”

Mom’s Touch, a Korean burger chain, is receiving a huge response in Japan. Following the huge success of its first store opened in Shibuya, Tokyo last April, the company has decided to open a second directly-operated location in Harajuku later this month. The first Shibuya location attracted 700,000 customers in its first year, with cumulative sales exceeding KRW 5 billion. A Mom’s Touch official explained, “The Shibuya location is twice the average annual sales per store last year of McDonald’s Japan, the No. 1 local burger franchise. Our goal is to conclude 30 franchise contracts by the end of this year.”
Mom’s Touch has launched ‘Mom’s Pizza’ at its 10th and 12th locations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The company plans to expand to seven its Shop&Shop locations, where it sells both burgers and pizzas, by the end of this year. It is also preparing to expand into countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and nations in the Middle East.

Among Korean pizza brands, GoPizza is standing out. Since its debut in India in 2018, it has now opened stores in seven countries, surpassing the 1,300 locations in which it operates. Notably, it opened 50 stores in India alone.
The global popularity of Korean burger and pizza brands is attributed to their localization strategies, which differentiate themselves with unique Korean-style burgers, while also satisfying local tastes. Lotteria’s shrimp and bulgogi burgers are particularly popular in foreign countries.

The shrimp burger differentiates itself by using seafood, a rare ingredient in the USA, while adding a mayonnaise-based sauce familiar to Western palates. The bulgogi burger is praised for its unique flavor, combining Korean-style sweet and salty sauce with a beef patty.
An industry insider remarked, “The competitiveness of domestic restaurant franchises with Korean-style sauces and toppings is being confirmed in the global burger and pizza markets. Korean restaurant companies are transcending domestic market limitations and securing global growth engines.”

Korean-Products.com | Blog Magazine of Korean products, brands and Goods