[Exclusive] The 'Burger War' Heats Up... bhc Prepares to Launch 'Outback Burger'

bhc, Considering Launching 'Outback Burger' Specialty Store
Famous Franchises Entering Burger Market One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] bhc is preparing to launch a hamburger specialty store based on Outback Steakhouse. In June, it will also introduce the famous American hamburger brand ‘Super Duper.’ As well-known franchises seek to expand their territories through portfolio diversification, competition among companies to dominate the domestic hamburger market is expected to intensify.

According to industry sources on the 4th, bhc is set to unveil a new ‘Outback Burger’ specialty store. It is currently under internal review and is expected to materialize in the second half of this year.

Since acquiring Outback Steakhouse last year, bhc has been aggressively expanding its business and diversifying its portfolio. At the end of last year, it signed a master franchise agreement with Super Duper and plans to open its first store near Gangnam Station in June. Super Duper is considered one of the representative burger brands in the western United States, alongside In-N-Out.

According to market research firm Euromonitor, the domestic hamburger market size grew about 23% from around 2.4 trillion KRW in 2016 to 2.9636 trillion KRW in 2020. The industry estimates that last year the market exceeded 4 trillion KRW, growing by more than 1 trillion KRW. Due to the demand for ‘eating alone’ caused by COVID-19, the market is expected to continue expanding this year.

In the premium hamburger market, SPC Group’s ‘Shake Shack,’ which began operations in Korea in 2016, is on a successful path, expanding to 20 stores. Shake Shack was so popular when it first opened that customers lined up continuously for a long time. Recently, it has maintained its lead in the premium burger market by continuously launching new menu items.

In January, ‘Gordon Ramsay Burger,’ introduced by Jinkyung Industry, opened its first store in Asia at Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The ‘1966 Burger,’ priced at 140,000 KRW, became a hot topic, and despite its high price, it sold out quickly.

Last year, Isaac Toast’s Isaac launched a handmade burger brand called ‘Isaac Burger,’ and shabu-shabu brand Chaesundang also introduced a handmade burger specialty brand called ‘Make Burger & Sandwich.’ Emerging strong contenders popular mainly among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), such as GFFG’s ‘Downtowner,’ are also fiercely competing.

In addition, traditional hamburger brands like Lotteria, McDonald’s, and Burger King remain strong, along with Shinsegae Food’s hamburger franchise No Brand Burger, which aims to open 250 stores within the year after surpassing 170 stores in just two years since its launch.

Professor Kim Si-wol of Konkuk University’s Department of Consumer Studies said, “Recently, many hamburger franchises are trying to break away from the traditional perception of fast food by following the Healthy Pleasure trend. The non-face-to-face consumption centered on platform economy has been further strengthened by COVID-19, so if they continue to build expertise and trust, market expansion will also continue.”

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