On the 26th of last month, the Shibuya branch of the Korean burger franchise "Mom's Touch" located on the main street of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The first floor is a place to take orders, and a poster of the girl group "Leseraphim" was hung on the wall of the first floor. The second floor is a place where you can eat, and the store was lively with foreign group tourists, office workers eating burgers while chatting, and so-called "honbab people" who eat alone. There were also people who wanted to take out and take it with them without eating food in the store.
Shibuya is the first store in MomsTouch Japan and opened in April last year. This place has emerged as a "burger restaurant" where not only Korean tourists but also Japanese and foreigners who visited Japan wait in line to buy it. After achieving 100,000 cumulative customers and 100 million yen in cumulative sales in 40 days of opening, 500,000 (accumulated) visited by the end of last year.
Mom's Touch & Company, the operator of Mom's Touch, plans to secure more than 60 overseas stores this year, more than three times the current level. There are a total of 18 overseas MomsTouch stores, including 7 in Thailand, 10 in Mongolia, and 1 in Japan. In the first half of this year, Harajuku Mom's Touch will also be released in key commercial districts in Harajuku, Tokyo. Starting this year, it plans to recruit franchisees in Japan and secure a total of 30 stores in Japan alone by the end of this year.
Mom's Touch is also popular in Mongolia. According to MomsTouch & Company, Mongolia's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than 20% of that of Korea, but MomsTouch in Mongolia is loved by locals enough to exceed the average monthly sales of each store. There are currently 10 stores in Mongolia, and we plan to open two stores in the first half of this year.
Several burger brands in Korea have entered Japan, but so far, they have not been successful. With existing foreign brands firmly established, the Korean burger brand failed to capture the hearts of consumers. How did Mom's Touch succeed in Japan.
Mom's Touch & Company's largest shareholder is F&B Holdings Korea Limited, and its actual owner is KL & Partners, a private equity fund. KL & Partners began to grow Mom's Touch into a global restaurant brand after acquiring Mom's Touch in 2019.
When KL & Partners acquired Mom's Touch, there were voices in the restaurant industry pointing out KL & Partners' failure to invest, saying that the domestic burger market was saturated. However, Mom's Touch survived the fierce domestic burger market through excellent cost-effectiveness (performance for price) menus of less than 5,000 won based on single burgers and differentiated store management strategies.
Mom's Touch has also opened new stores on the second floor, along side streets, alleys, residential areas, and on the second floor. This is in stark contrast to the actions of competitors who open stores in areas that revitalize commercial districts and on the first floor. This led to a decrease in various fixed costs that continued to occur after entering the store, such as rent, labor costs, and utility charges.
The essential items that franchisees must purchase through their headquarters are also maintained at a minimum level. Starting from the end of 2022, the initial investment cost such as interior, kitchen, and computer equipment required to open new franchisees was lowered to match the initial start-up cost to the early 100 million won level from the first half of 2023.
In June 2023, Mom's Touch Burger also introduced a special store called "Shop-in Shop," where pizza can be sold. As burgers and pizzas could be sold at the same time in one store, franchisees could generate new profits while reducing fixed costs. From a consumer's point of view, the number of shop-in-shop stores has increased sharply due to the advantage of being able to eat both burgers and pizza when coming to Mom's Touch. As of January this year, there were 154 shop-in-shop stores, all affiliated stores.
Through this know-how accumulated in Korea, Mom's Touch & Company has started targeting overseas markets this time. In particular, they worked hard to target the Japanese market. He set his sights on entering the Japanese market and thoroughly prepared for it.
Before opening the Shibuya store in April last year, it operated a pop-up store for three weeks in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2023. Dozens of professional personnel in charge of product and service quality were sent to Japan to conduct market research.
It also considered reducing the size of the burger to suit Japanese people who eat relatively less food than Koreans, but introduced a large burger without reducing it. The price of the burger set is also set so that it does not exceed 1,000 yen. For the Japanese, Mom's Touch Burger was a huge success as it went viral that it tasted good and was full and cheap when eaten.
Mom's Touch & Company continues to be aggressive in management in Korea. As of January this year, a total of 1,450 stores are in operation. It is the largest number of stores among burger franchises operated by domestic companies. Sales have also risen for five consecutive years from 2020 to last year, reaching 400 billion won.
According to Mom's Touch & Company, the top-selling burger last year was a thigh burger. It was then counted as the 2nd and 3rd place white garlic psyburgers. Mom's Touch's flagship burger, Cyburger, is a chicken burger that combines spicy seasoned moist chicken legs, fresh vegetables and sauce.
Mom's Touch is not complacent in the burger market, but is expanding its business area by challenging the chicken market. As its reputation as a chicken burger has increased, it is confident that it can succeed in the chicken market.
Mom's Touch, in fact, introduced boneless chicken "Edward Lee Big Psy-Sal" on the 20th after a long study, which has surpassed 100,000 cumulative sales within a week of its launch, making a big splash in the chicken industry.
Edward Lee Big Psy-Bunsal is a boneless chicken that harmonizes "real bourbon sauce" developed by chef Edward Lee himself with "Big Psy-Bunsal," Mom's Touch's signature chicken. It is well-received for its deep taste that is completely different from traditional chicken by using whiskey as a sauce ingredient, combining the sweetness and whisky taste, crispy texture, and juicy chicken legs.
An official from Mom's Touch said, "Edward Lee Big Psy Soon Sal" sold an average of 15,000 per day and an average of more than 20,000 on weekends when family demand for chicken is high, easily exceeding 100,000 cumulative sales in a week.
