[Distribution Hot People] "Goldking Wing Challenging the Throne of Ppurinkle, Obsessed with Taste Even Postponing Launch"

Park Myeongseong, Head of Product Development Team at bhc Corporate Research Institute... The Secret to Success: Sweet and Salty Flavor & Crispiness
"We will continue to develop menus that meet customer needs and dining trends"

Park Myung-sung, head of product development team at bhc Corporate Research Institute, is posing with the Gold King Wing product. Photo by Lee Seon-ae lsa@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] bhc Chicken’s ‘Wingstar Series’ is gaining tremendous popularity. Even before launching full-scale marketing such as TV commercials, word of mouth spread, and 210,000 units were sold within a month of release. In particular, the ‘Gold King Wing’ from the ‘Wingstar Series,’ which showcases the essence of sweet and salty flavors based on soy sauce, is drawing attention as it challenges the dominance of the ‘Bburinkle’ by surpassing existing top-ranking menu items. Did they anticipate such explosive reactions? Park Myung-sung, head of product development at bhc Corporate Research Institute who developed the ‘Wingstar Series,’ nodded in agreement.

When we met on the 5th, he emphasized that based on his experience developing many popular bhc Chicken menus including Bburinkle, he can predict future trends just by looking at the tasting plates. He said that during the tasting evaluation conducted before the menu launch, seeing the ‘Gold King Wing’ plates completely cleaned up made him foresee its popularity. He added that the ‘Gold King Wing’ was a product with high internal expectations due to positive on-site reactions.

Regarding the secret to the new menu’s popularity, Park explained that it was because they focused on the basics of chicken flavor?sweet and salty taste and crispiness?based on continuous market research. To gain inspiration, he regularly visits large supermarkets and pubs to observe trends. He said, “While conducting market research before launching the new menu, I encountered many appetizers using wing parts,” and explained the development background by adding, “After tasting them, I found them delicious and easy to eat, so we decided to develop a menu specializing in wing parts.”

He planned a chicken series composed solely of wing parts with five flavor concepts including soy sauce and spicy flavors. Accordingly, they developed four types?Bburinkle Wing, Matchoking Wing, Red King Wing, and Fried Wing?by applying four existing top-position flavors to the wing parts. Implementing the four flavors, which had been verified by customers, on the wing parts was not very difficult. However, when developing the newly released flavor ‘Gold King Wing,’ they experienced some trial and error.

Park Myung-sung, head of product development at bhc Corporate Research Institute, is explaining the background of the Gold King product development. Photo by Lee Seon-ae

‘Gold King Wing’ is a product inspired by the sauce of soy sauce gold chicken. The soy sauce gold chicken had a strong garlic aroma compared to soy sauce and a strong salty taste, which divided opinions. Additionally, the fact that the sauce fully penetrated the ingredients, reducing visual appeal, was also a problem. Park balanced the soy sauce and garlic, ensured the sauce moderately soaked into the ingredients to maintain crispiness, and incorporated bhc’s unique ingredients to add sweetness while making it look more appetizing.

After completing the sauce, they conducted tests to find the batter mix (chicken coating) suitable for the ‘Gold King Wing’ among existing batter mixes. Developing a new batter mix was not easy, and to avoid confusing franchise owners by increasing the number of batter mixes, they tried to use existing ones as much as possible. Fortunately, they found a promising batter mix and then experimented with the ratio of batter mix to water, frying time, and amount of sauce to find the optimal balance between ingredients and sauce. Even if the sauce tastes good, if it does not harmonize with the ingredients, the sauce must be redeveloped, so they devoted the most effort to this part.

After trial and error, the ‘Wingstar Series’ was finally born at the end of November. However, there was an internal opinion that the sweetness of the ‘Gold King Wing’ should be enhanced, so the release was postponed. He said, “Since this decision was made two days before the launch, I initially wondered if a better taste could be achieved,” and smiled brightly, adding, “But we proceeded with additional improvements, and as a result, the current ‘Gold King Wing,’ which highlights the charm of sweet and salty flavors, was born.”

Finally, Park expressed his determination to continuously develop menus that meet customer needs and dining trends. He said, “bhc Chicken’s strength lies in fresh meat, and we have already achieved the top position in this area,” and shared his ambition, “We will continue to develop menus using specific parts like Wingstar and aim to become number one in this field as well.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.