Mom's Touch expands overseas with new stores

A Mom's Touch pop-up store in Shibuya, Tokyo on Oct. 20. It operates until Nov. 9. [MOM'S TOUCH]

Mom's Touch, a Korean burger and fried chicken franchise, is expanding its global footprint by setting up new stores outside of its hometurf in countries like Japan, Thailand and Mongolia.

Its latest foray was in Japan where it opened its first global pop up store in Shibuya, Tokyo. Running for three weeks from Oct. 20, the “Mom's Touch Tokyo” store has already had around 2,500 customers stop by and sold more than 3,800 products in four days since its opening.

Ten signature items from the food chain, including the “Thigh Burger,” were served. The store also had photo zones, participatory programs for customers, and branded goods ready across its five floors.

Following an evaluation on the local demand, Mom’s Touch plans to look for a local Japanese partner to sign a master franchise agreement, according to the brand in a press release on Friday.

Mom's Touch started out its business in Korea in 1997, jumping into an industry that was at the time filled with global brands. It now runs 1,400 stores nationwide.

Its latest global destination includes Thailand where it opened a store conceptualized as a pub with a “Chi-Maek” theme. Chi-Maek is short for chicken and maekju, Korean for beer. The flagship menu is the brand-signature “Thigh Burger” and Korean fried chicken, along with beer, the beverage of choice. Soju, popularly mixed with beer to make a “so-maek” concoction, is also sold on location.

Five Mom’s Touch stores are currently operating in the capital city Bangkok, all located in commercial areas. A sixth store will be opened in Thailand by the end of the year, according to the brand.

Mom's Touch also opened its first store in an E-mart in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, in September this year.

“On the back of our competitive products including chicken burgers and Korean seasoned chicken, which have dominated the domestic market, we will continue to expand our global presence and promote Korean dining culture,” said a spokesperson for Mom’s Touch.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]