South Korean franchise restaurants are increasingly investing in their side menus as efforts to attract consumers intensify amid intensifying competition in the industry and decreasing demand due to the economic downturn.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, snack franchise School Food, known for serving Korean snacks including kimbap and tteokbokki, added four varieties of boneless chicken as side menu items. Since adding the quartet to the menu, School Food has received around 6,000 orders monthly, or 43,463 orders during the first seven months of 2023. After sucessfully diversifying its side menu items, the snack franchise is looking to expand its side menu options even further. While introducing new flavors to its already popular boneless chicken series, School Food also introduced an egg sandwich menu back in March that was developed based on a recipe from Japanese sandwich restaurant Amanoya.

Genesis BBQ Co., a fried chicken franchise, released a grilled chicken thigh patty as a side menu item last month. The patty, made by adding pork and rice cake pieces to chicken thigh meat, is served in two flavors: spicy barbeque and sweet rib flavor. “We attempted to break away from conventional side menu items such as potato fries and cheese balls,” an official from the company said, adding that the new side menu item is selling well.

The fried chicken franchise added that its traditional side menu items have gained momentum in sales after the menu’s expansion. Its potato fries platter and fried shrimp, introduced in July, are also selling well despite being conventional side menu items for a fried chicken restaurant. “Both our fries platter and fried shrimp have consistently ranked among the top three most popular side menu items since their release,” the company said.

Tteokbokki chain Dongdaemun Yeopgi Tteokbokki has recorded strong sales of its Northeast Chinese-style fried pork, which was introduced alongside a new menu item, Sichuan-style mala flavor tteokbokki, in July. The snack chain incorporated the main plate inspired by Southwestern Chinese cuisine, popular among the younger generation, with fried pork from Northeastern Chinese cuisine.

Other franchise chains are also joining the trend to expand their side menu items. Another fried chicken franchise, Hosigi Double Chicken, showcased fried corn kernels seasoned with garlic cheese seasoning. Served with cassava chips, the new side menu item topped sales among side menu items immediately after its release. Earlier in 2021, Shinsegae Food Inc.’s in-house hamburger brand released French fries seasoned with sweet butter syrup and Grada Padano cheese topping to create a sweet yet salty taste.

“The latest trend of strengthening side menus indicates that the domestic restaurant industry has matured to the extent of dedicating effort to research and develop beyond their main menus,” an industry insider said, adding that it is also evidence that the industry is nearing saturation, where competition among the players is inevitable.

By Park Hong-joo and Chang Iou-chung

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]