Bibigo food franchise boosts U.S. sales by 30% year-on-year

Bibigo, a chain of restaurants from CJ Group’s food affiliate CJ Foodville, said yesterday its sales in the United States have increased 30 percent year-on-year.

CJ Foodville attributed the increase to its localization strategy. In its U.S. branches, the company began offering Bibigo Noodle as a single dish after finding that customers there often look for noodles as a side. The food chain said the new item became the third most popular dish at the Century City Mall branch in Los Angeles.

Bibigo currently operates three locations in the Greater Los Angeles area, including in Beverly Hills, Century City Mall and Westwood Village, selling its wide range of bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables) dishes.

In China and Southeast Asia, Bibigo took advantage of the growing popularity of Korean dramas by launching food featured on those shows. It began selling deep-fried chicken in China after the hit drama series “My Love From the Star” showed its main character eating chicken and drinking beer, inspiring Chinese fans to do the same.