Genesis BBQ fosters Vietnam as Southeast Asia hub
People queue outisde Genesis BBQ's new restaurant in Hanoi's Vu Pham Ham in Vietnam, Monday. Courtesy of Genesis BBQ
Genesis BBQ's global market expansion continues with the opening of its latest overseas restaurant at a booming commerce sector in Hanoi, according to the country's leading fried chicken restaurant franchise, Tuesday. The move reflects the firm's aim to use Vietnam as its hub for increasing branches throughout Southeast Asia.
The company opened the two-storied restaurant in Vu Pham Ham in the Vietnamese capital, Monday. Seating up to 64 patrons, it is situated in an area that bustles with human traffic and restaurants lined up along a main corridor, according to the firm.
The menu there particularly caters to local consumers by including items exclusive to the region. They include "UFO chicken," a platter of different kinds of chicken with dry ice at its center, and "volcano chicken" for cheese-lovers.
"We have taken into account what the people in Southeast Asia particularly want," said an official from the company. "But we kept it from compromising with the brand's unique recipes, flavors and quality as we developed those localized menus."
The brand has already garnered enough local popularity to get an increasing volume of calls from local customers saying they want to see another BBQ restaurant open in Vietnam, added the official.
The company's strategic selection of Vietnam as a hub for its future market expansion is because of the country's young population. Out of its population of nearly 100 million, one third are in their 20s or 30s. The population's overall average age is 32.8, according to the company.
Seeing the potential, the company has introduced other Korean signature food items to the menu, such as kimchi fried rice and "tteokbokki," or spicy simmered rice cakes.
With another BBQ restaurant in Da Nang – in addition to 12 others in the country – and another one being opened in Manila, The Philippines, earlier this year, the company said Southeast Asia will witness the company's "exponential" global market growth.
Worldwide, the firm has propped up BBQ signboards for 700 different establishments in 57 countries. New shops opened in Panama last May and Costa Rica last month, and Alabama's new shop last October marked the 250th Genesis BBQ store. The franchise operates in 26 states of the United States.
Canada, Germany, Taiwan and Japan are also in the sights of Genesis BBQ Group Chairman Yoon Hong-geun and the franchise. Apart from sales, Yoon has been promoting the brand's presence globally by donating to victims of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last February and collecting a charity fund for Ukrainian children last August.