"Lunch Burgers, Evening Chicken"... Mom's Touch Boosts Store Efficiency

'Shop-in-Shop' Stores See 34% Average Sales Increase Three Months After Transition

Average Franchise Sales Reach 600 Million Won as Menu Categories Expand

Mom's Touch is expanding its "QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) platform" strategy, which offers burgers, chicken, and pizza all within a single store. The company aims to boost per-store sales efficiency by capturing burger demand at lunchtime and chicken and pizza demand during dinner and late-night hours. Instead of focusing on opening new locations, Mom's Touch is prioritizing improving the operational efficiency of its existing stores.

According to Mom's Touch on May 21, stores that have been converted to a "shop-in-shop" format—adding pizza to their burger- and chicken-focused menus—saw an average sales increase of 34% in the three months before and after the conversion. The company attributes this growth to the fact that each menu item is popular at different times of day, which helps drive up overall sales. Average franchise sales are also on the rise. Based on data from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the average annual sales of a typical 66-square-meter Mom's Touch franchise increased from 432.71 million won in 2020 to 544.99 million won in 2024. In 2023, sales reached 612.6 million won, a 12.4% increase from the previous year.

Exterior view of the Itaewon branch operated as a QSR platform store. Provided by Mom's Touch.

The company is also continuing to expand its menu. In 2022, Mom's Touch launched its first-ever beef burger, the "Grilled Beef Burger," and provided franchise stores with dedicated cooking equipment free of charge to support beef burger sales. Currently, about 1,000 locations—around 67% of the company's total 1,490 stores—sell beef burgers. The "Edward Lee Chef Collection," launched last year, achieved a cumulative sales volume of 6 million units in its first year. In March 2023, immediately after the launch, sales increased by 31.2% compared to the same month the previous year. The share of chicken sales rose from around 10% in 2019 to 21.1% by the end of last year. The company explained that this was due not only to increased demand for side menu items ordered with burgers, but also to growing standalone demand for chicken itself.

Mom's Touch is also focused on reducing the investment burden for franchisees. In addition to providing dedicated cooking equipment free of charge to support beef burger sales, the company is also expanding pizza sales by utilizing existing stores, thereby minimizing the need for additional interior renovations or new capital investments.

The QSR platform strategy is also being applied to overseas markets. Last year, the company's directly operated Shibuya branch in Japan introduced pizza for the first time outside Korea, and some stores in Mongolia are offering burgers, chicken, and pizza together. The company plans to operate new locations in Mongolia using the same model.

Mom's Touch signed master franchise agreements in Laos in 2024 and in Uzbekistan last year. Overseas sales in 2023 increased by 70.6% compared to the previous year, while royalty-related income rose by 73%. Mom's Touch aims to operate 100 stores across 10 countries worldwide by the end of 2024.

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