CJ Foods’ ‘bibigo Bapsang’ Enters India’s Quick-Service Restaurant Market, Targets 100 Outlets by 2027

【New Delhi, India—Pragya Awasati, correspondent】CJ Foods, which has gained prominence in global markets with its Korean food brand bibigo, is making a full-scale entry into India’s foodservice market.
According to industry sources on the 8th, CJ Foods has entered the local quick-service restaurant (QSR) market through bibigo Bapsang, a Korean food brand for convenient meals and dining, after signing an exclusive strategic partnership with food and beverage company GTGO. This is the first time CJ Foods has introduced a restaurant-format business in India. The two companies plan to open three bibigo Bapsang outlets in Bengaluru, India, by the end of this year. GTGO will invest about 10 million rupees (138.3 million won) per outlet to develop the business. CJ Foods plans to decide on the number of additional outlets and its expansion strategy after analyzing the operating performance of the first three outlets.
GTGO founder and CEO Jaewon Lim said, “We’ve been preparing for this project for the past year and opened our first outlet last weekend,” adding, “bibigo Bapsang is GTGO’s fourth brand.” GTGO plans to use the launch of bibigo Bapsang to expand its business from a single-brand Korean-style QSR operator into a comprehensive K-food platform. GTGO currently operates three brands—GoPizza, Gochujang, and Dalkomi—and has about 60 outlets in total. Of these, GoPizza accounts for about 45 outlets, Gochujang for 10, and Dalkomi for five.
GTGO plans to add 15 outlets by December this year and expand to 100 by June 2027. All its outlets in India are company-operated, and the investment payback period is about 12 months. bibigo Bapsang plans to offer a variety of Korean dishes, including Korean-style rice bowls, bibimbap, and Korean-style fried chicken. Initially, it will target the market with a small-format QSR model. It is also leaving open the possibility of expanding into larger restaurant formats in the future, depending on market response.
CEO Jaewon Lim said, “India is the most important market in GTGO’s global portfolio,” and voiced hopes for the expansion of its business in India and an increase in its corporate value. GTGO currently operates in 10 countries worldwide. Singapore, India, and South Korea account for about 90% of its total revenue. In India, it operates in four cities: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Anantapur. It plans to enter Mumbai and the Delhi metropolitan area before expanding into tier-two and tier-three cities.

[email protected] Pragya Awasati, correspondent Reporter