Eating tteokbokki at a café and buying a hamburger at a chicken joint: the 'Big Blur' in dining out

Amid high inflation and slowing growth, a "Big Blur" phenomenon is spreading in the franchise industry, with brands moving beyond their core business into different types of menus. Coffee chains, chicken brands, and dessert shops are locked in fierce competition to raise average spending per customer and keep people in their stores longer.
According to industry sources on the 8th, major franchise brands are steadily expanding their business scope into new menu categories beyond their traditional flagship items.
Mega MGC Coffee has been drawing popularity by offering chicken dishes mainly at its company-owned stores. The menu is modeled after the cup chicken that used to be a favorite snack sold near schools, and it has gone viral on social networking service (SNS) platforms. Analysts say its success comes from Mega MGC Coffee's convenient locations and the affordable price of 4,400 won.
Mega MGC Coffee had already expanded into desserts and snack foods by scoring back-to-back hits with cup tteokbokki and cup shaved ice. Riding this momentum, the chain plans to officially roll out its cup chicken menu at all outlets, including franchise stores, on the 12th.
Coffee chain Compose Coffee and shaved-ice specialist Sulbing have also broadened their business by adding tteokbokki to their menus, going beyond desserts. EDIYA COFFEE last year introduced a new "Deli Zone" in its stores, where customers can enjoy items such as pizza and hamburgers on-site.
This kind of expansion by the franchise industry is seen as a strategy to extend customers' time in stores and increase the average amount they spend. In particular, low-priced coffee brands face strong consumer resistance if they raise drink prices, which can directly hurt their sales.
The same trend is visible in the fried chicken sector. As the chicken market reaches saturation, brands are turning their attention to the burger market. BHC Chicken sells chicken burgers during lunchtime in selected commercial districts such as Gaepo and the Seoul National University of Education area. This reflects demand from busy consumers who prefer a quick and simple lunch. In stores that offer chicken burgers, burgers account for about 24% of total sales.

bb.q Chicken is working to expand its hamburger menu, previously available only at some outlets, to all franchise locations. Unlike the broader restaurant industry, which is mired in a slump, the company aims to capture demand from consumers who, amid so-called "lunchflation," are turning to hamburgers priced under 10,000 won. According to market research firm Embrain, the domestic burger market reached 4.0276 trillion won last year, up 2.3% from 3.936 trillion won a year earlier.
The blurring of boundaries among franchise brands can also be seen as a desperate attempt to find new survival strategies in the face of rising labor and rental costs and government pressure to restrain price hikes.
A franchise industry official explained, "Competition in the industry is so intense that it is difficult to raise the prices of main menu items." The official added, "By offering a wider variety of menu options, brands are trying to attract new customer segments. Hamburgers sell well at lunchtime, coffee and desserts in the afternoon, and chicken and pizza in the evening, so there is also a strategy to target different groups of consumers at different times of day."

security@fnnews.com Park Kyung-ho Reporter