Franchise News

U.S.-Based Korean Fried Chicken Brand Experiences 24.7% AUV Growth; Earns Accolades for its Influence on the Industry

As Korean pop culture further makes its mark on the United States, Bonchon has been a part of the movement spreading the joy of its hand-battered, double-fried Korean fried chicken.

Bonchon's year-over-year sales increase of 12 percent is outperforming the industry average and leading the fast casual and casual dining segments per Black Box Intelligence^™ data. Since the time VIG Partners invested in the company at the end of 2018, its AUV has increased by 24.7% to $1.57 million, and this growth has continued through the early part of the year.

"Heading into 2022, we had a focused strategy of building sales and trimming costs where possible, to minimize the impact of high commodity and transportation costs. We also continue to remain dedicated to the quality of our food, giving people a taste of Korean culture as well as providing a strong franchise opportunity to our partners," said Flynn Dekker, CEO of Bonchon. "Our 20^th anniversary is on the horizon this fall and we have much to celebrate with our fans and can't wait to do it in true Bonchon style."

The brand is also experiencing location growth in both the United States and internationally. Throughout the United States, it has opened a combination of its new fast casual and full-service model locations in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas and Virginia with plans to grow by 20 percent before the end of the year. Since the start of 2022, it also opened new international restaurants in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam with its first location coming to France later this year.

With a strategic expansion plan in place, its US development pipeline includes signed agreements for more than 120 future restaurants — entering into brand new markets such as Delaware, where a location opened in July, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ohio and Alabama. Further showing the influence the brand and its leadership has on the restaurant industry, Bonchon has earned more than nine awards in the past twelve months. A few of the most notable are Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 Restaurants where the brand moved up to #181, Fast Casual Movers & Shakers with a nearly 40 spot jump on the list and Entrepreneur magazine Top 200 Global Franchise.

Bonchon is a global restaurant brand known for distinctive Korean double-fried chicken, Asian fusion cuisine, and Korean specialties. Born in Busan, South Korea in 2002, the concept was established in the United States in 2006. Bonchon sets out to have its fans "Crunch Out Loud" by sharing the joy of hand-battered, double-fried, crazy crispy Korean fried chicken with the world. It currently has more than 386 restaurants across eight countries including Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Australia, Vietnam and the United States.

The brand has earned several accolades – it was recognized by Business Insider as "the gold standard for fried chicken" as well as included on Nation's Restaurant News 2022 "Top 500 Restaurants", Fast Casual Magazine's 2022 "Top 100 Movers & Shakers" and Entrepreneur's 2022 "Franchise 500", "Fastest Growing Franchises", "Top Food Franchise" and "Top Global Franchise" lists.

For more information about Bonchon, visit bonchon.com. To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit franchising.bonchon.com.

Black Box Intelligence^™ is the leading performance benchmarking provider for the restaurant industry connecting the dots on people, profits and performance. Their unparalleled data set reveals insight into financial, workforce, guest and consumer trends from over 300 brands and 72,000 restaurant units. Black Box Intelligence is also the producer of The Best Practices Conference held annually in Dallas, Texas.