Overseas Business Stalled by COVID-19... Food Service Franchises Taking Steps Forward Again

BBQ, Nene Chicken Spread K-Chicken in Canada
Pizza, Meat Franchises Expand Presence Across Asia

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] The dining industry is cautiously stepping back into global markets that had stalled due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to industry sources on the 20th, BBQ opened its 'Surrey Guildford Branch' in Vancouver, Canada last week. They are currently scouting locations to open additional stores near the Richmond H Mart store. BBQ also expanded into Germany in July, opening two stores in Frankfurt. As of last year, BBQ had over 500 stores in 57 countries overseas. BBQ expects to surpass 600 overseas stores this year.

Nene Chicken has entered the final stages of preparations to expand into Canada next year. Originally, they planned to open their first store this summer, but the project was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. A Nene Chicken representative stated, "We are currently scouting for the first store location in Western Canada."

At the opening ceremony of Pizza Maru Myanmar's first store last year, employees from Pizza Maru headquarters and representatives from the master franchise partner company are taking a commemorative photo.

Pizza Maru, after opening two additional stores in Myanmar in April and May, plans to open one more store in Hong Kong this December. To date, Pizza Maru operates three stores in Myanmar, two in Indonesia, three in Singapore, including two stores in Hong Kong. A Pizza Maru representative explained, "Overseas business was challenging this year due to COVID-19, but except for the shutdown periods, sales have increased compared to the previous year."

In Indonesia, shutdowns were maintained continuously from March, except for about three weeks between July and August, and were lifted starting this week. Myanmar experienced shutdowns in April-May and September, while Hong Kong and Singapore had shutdowns lasting about two months.

Mapo Galmaegi, operated by Didim, is preparing to enter Pakistan and Thailand with a target of the first half of next year. In January, they signed a master franchise agreement with M. Anwar Brothers in Pakistan and plan to open their first store this year in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. This is considered the first case of a Korean food franchise entering Pakistan.

A Didim representative said, "Interest in Korean food has recently increased in Pakistan. Especially since Mapo Galmaegi has expanded into Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia, interest seems to have grown accordingly."

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, many franchises have recently expressed intentions to expand overseas. When recruiting participants for the '2020 Dining Companies Overseas Expansion Webinar,' franchises such as Pizza Maru, Seorae Galmaegi, Chicken Plus, Pizza Alvolo, and Saenghwal Maekju showed interest in expanding to Shanghai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, and other locations. The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation plans to explain local market trends, legal matters, home meal replacement (HMR) trends, and marketing trends at the webinar scheduled for early next month.

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