"I Bought Iced Americano Every Day Because It Was Cheap"... Only 15% of Coffee Chains Are Food Safety Certified

Among 380,000 Domestic Franchise Stores, Only Around 10% Are Food Safety Certified
Starbucks at 99%, Compose Coffee at 15%... Wide Gap Between Brands

Among domestic foodservice franchises, low-cost coffee brands have the lowest participation rate in the Food Safety Restaurant designation program. In particular, only 15.1% of all Compose Coffee locations have been designated as safe establishments, ranking the lowest among major franchises.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Fair Trade Commission as of May 10, 2026, out of approximately 379,739 franchise stores in Korea last year, only about 30,000 to 40,000 were designated as Food Safety Restaurants, representing around 10% of the total. Participation in the program remains low across the franchise industry as a whole.

The Food Safety Restaurant designation is a system in which the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety evaluates the hygiene status of food service establishments such as general restaurants, snack bars, and bakeries, and designates those that meet certain criteria. Since March 16, the previous three-tier rating system of "Very Excellent, Excellent, Good" was abolished, and the designation has been unified so that stores scoring 85 points or higher are designated as safe establishments.

The polarization among coffee franchises was particularly pronounced by business type. For Compose Coffee, only 467 out of 3,100 stores were designated as Food Safety Restaurants, resulting in a rate of just 15.1%. Baekdabang (29.7%) and Mega MGC Coffee (36.4%) also hovered around 30%. The pace of certification lags behind the rapid expansion in the number of stores.

On the other hand, Starbucks saw 2,099 out of its 2,115 stores designated, posting a rate of 99.2%. Essentially, nearly all its stores have received certification. Other brands such as Twosome Place (83.3%), Hollys (71.2%), and Paul Bassett (67.1%) also showed high participation rates. Even within the same sector, the gap between brands has widened to more than 80 percentage points.

This disparity is attributed to differences in business operations. Brands with a high proportion of directly operated stores, like Starbucks, can carry out the certification procedures in an integrated manner, whereas franchise-centered brands experience significant variation depending on whether individual owners choose to participate. An industry official commented, "The more franchisees you have, the more you need to convince each store individually," adding, "This inevitably slows down the pace of certification expansion."

In the hamburger franchise sector, Burger King had 488 out of 551 stores designated as Food Safety Restaurants, achieving a rate of 88.6%. Its high rate is credited to its direct management system. Lotteria saw only 436 out of 1,308 stores (33.3%) certified, while Mom's Touch had 534 out of 1,490 stores (35.8%) certified. Although these brands rank high in store count, their participation rates differ significantly. McDonald's had 220 out of 401 stores (54.9%) certified, and KFC had 102 out of 203 stores (50.2%), placing them in the mid-range. No Brand Burger had 149 out of 262 stores designated, resulting in a rate of 56.9%.

Chicken franchises generally had lower participation rates. BHC had 713 out of 2,228 stores designated, or 32%, and BBQ had 704 out of 2,316 stores certified, representing just 30.4%. Despite being leading brands in the industry, their participation rates remained in the low 30% range. Among chicken franchises, only Kyochon Chicken exceeded the 60% threshold, with 843 out of 1,361 stores certified, achieving 61.9%.

Market observers view the Food Safety Restaurant program as more than just a certification; it is now an element that determines franchise competitiveness. Especially since this year, with the evaluation criterion unified at a score of 85 points or higher, the number of certified stores is serving as an indicator of a brand's management capability.

Changing consumer perceptions are also having an effect. In the foodservice industry, a hygiene-related incident can tarnish the image of not just an individual outlet but the entire brand. This means that certification status is becoming increasingly influential in consumers' choices.

An industry official stated, "The Food Safety Restaurant designation is not simply a marketing tool, but an element linked to brand trust," and added, "If participation is not expanded, brands will inevitably fall behind in the long-term competition."