[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Native burger and chicken brand Mom's Touch announced on the 17th that its first directly-operated store in Tokyo, 'Shibuya Mom's Touch', which celebrated its first anniversary on the 16th of this month, had surpassed 700,000 cumulative visitors and 5 billion won in sales.

Shibuya Mom's Touch, which opened in April 2024 in the same location where a McDonald's in Japan had operated for 39 years, has surpassed 700,000 cumulative visitors as of March of this year. If you count the customers who have used Shibuya Mom's Touch over the past year, it would be enough to fill more than 15 Tokyo Domes (capacity: 45,600), the mecca of K-pop in Japan.

'Shibuya Mom's Touch' recorded cumulative sales of approximately 510 million yen (approximately 5 billion won) over the past year. This is an overwhelming achievement, approximately twice the average annual sales of McDonald's stores, the number one local burger franchise, and approximately seven times that of local brand Mos Burger, setting a new milestone in the arrogant Japanese market, which is considered an unexplored territory for K-restaurant franchises.

The reason for this remarkable success is interpreted as the fact that Mom's Touch's unique brand value of 'providing the best QSR experience at the most reasonable price' (Best price, Best quality) was fully conveyed to Japanese consumers.

The most popular local burger, the 'Cheese Cyber ​​Burger' (570 yen for a single, 900 yen for a set), is about 10-30% cheaper than the average lunch price (1,000-1,500 yen) in downtown Shibuya where the store is located, but it has captured the Japanese 'Cost+Performance' trend that values ​​cost-effectiveness with its overwhelming taste and generous portions.

The hot popularity of the Korean Wave, which is called the 4th Korean Wave, also played a part in the launch of new products and marketing strategies that emphasize the delicious and healthy K-food message. The localized menus, 'Cheese Bulgogi Burger' and 'Honey Garlic Cyber ​​Burger', are popular menus that even Japanese people who have never properly experienced Korean food can enjoy without feeling burdened. The Korean-style seasoned chicken, 'Mom's Seasoned Cyber ​​Chicken,' continues to be the number one seller among the local chicken menu lineup.

'Mom's Pizza', which opened as a shop-in-shop in the Shibuya store last February, is expected to contribute to the influx of new consumers and sales this year, as it has been consistently selling an average of 50 plates per day despite its early launch and accounted for 10% of Shibuya Mom's Touch's sales in March. In particular, 'Cy Pizza' and Korean-style 'Bulgogi Pizza', which were launched in July of last year and led the 'Mom's Pizza' craze in Korea, are recording the undisputed 1st and 2nd place in pizza sales locally.

In addition, through continuous collaboration with K-brands such as joint promotions with Samsung Electronics' Galaxy pop-up store last year, the launch of a new menu item 'Buldak Sauce Cyber ​​Burger' using Samyang Buldak Sauce, and a side menu item 'Buldak Sauce Kimchi Rice Cake', it has also been spotlighted as an effective marketing collaboration platform between Hallyu companies.

There was also a case where the achievements made at 'Shibuya Mom's Touch' were exported back to Korea. The 'Bulgogi Burger', which was sold exclusively at the Shibuya store to reflect Japanese consumers' preference for sweet and salty sauce, received favorable reviews from consumers of various countries and ages, and was released in Korea as the 'Signature Bulgogi Burger' in August of last year, capturing the taste buds of the home country as well.

In addition, based on the know-how that Mamstouch had successfully reduced customer waiting time after ordering by approximately 55% by introducing a conveyor belt between the kitchen and the cash register at its Shibuya branch for the first time in the industry, it introduced an upgraded automatic/manual hybrid conveyor belt at its Myeongdong branch, which opened in a similar commercial district to Shibuya in June of last year, contributing to reducing service time for domestic customers.

Based on the successful operation experience of 'Shibuya Mom's Touch' over the past year, Mom's Touch plans to open its second directly-managed store, 'Harajuku Mom's Touch', in the first half of the year with the largest scale of the brand, approximately 300 seats and 550㎡. It is currently looking for sites for additional directly-managed stores in key commercial districts such as Shinjuku and Ikebukuro in the second half of the year.

In addition to direct stores, local franchise businesses are also gaining momentum. The Japanese corporation 'Mom's Touch Tokyo' signed its first corporate franchise contract with a local Japanese company early this year, and is speeding up its expansion into the Japanese market, aiming to sign a total of 30 franchise contracts by the end of the year. It has confirmed that it will open a franchise store in the Odaiba complex shopping mall, a famous tourist destination in Tokyo, early next year.

A representative of Mom's Touch said, "Based on our experience of starting as a latecomer in the domestic burger market and rapidly expanding our franchises, as well as the know-how from successfully launching our first directly-managed store in an overseas market, Shibuya Mom's Touch, we are currently quickly settling into the Japanese restaurant market by utilizing a two-track strategy of simultaneously opening directly-managed stores and franchises."

He continued, “Mom’s Touch, which has been recognized for its product competitiveness by Japanese customers over the past year, will now actively expand its store openings throughout Japan with Tokyo as its center, while continuously introducing menus and services tailored to the needs and tastes of Japanese consumers. We will grow into a representative K-food brand that naturally blends into the lives of customers.”