Mom's Touch to enter Kazakhstan through local food conglomerate
Shin-Line Group headquarters in Kazakhstan / Courtesy of Mom’s Touch
Korean burger and chicken chain Mom’s Touch will enter Kazakhstan, expanding its presence in Central Asia after entering Uzbekistan last year, the company said Monday.
Mom’s Touch said it signed a master franchise agreement with Mom’s Touch Central Asia LLP, the restaurant arm of Kazakh food company Shin-Line Group. Under such agreements, a local partner gains the rights to open and operate stores and to sub-franchise in a given territory. The two companies aim to open more than 50 stores over the next 10 years. The first store is targeted for the first half of next year.
The deal also covers neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Mom’s Touch said it will first establish the brand in Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, and then gradually consider entering nearby markets.
Founded in 1995, Shin-Line is Central Asia’s top ice cream maker, with a market share of more than 40 percent across the region. It exports to about 10 countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of former Soviet republics, through its own cold-chain logistics network. It also operates more than 70 stores of a Korean convenience store brand, mainly in Almaty.
Shin-Line Chairman Andrey Shin is a third-generation Koryo-saram, the term for ethnic Koreans in the former Soviet Union. Many descend from those deported from the Russian Far East to Central Asia in 1937.
The company said its chicken-focused menu suits Kazakhstan, where about 70 percent of the population is Muslim and demand for chicken is high. It will lead with its signature chicken burger made with a thick whole-thigh fillet. Stores will also sell pizza.
“Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are strategic markets with high growth potential that are also well positioned for expansion into neighboring countries,” a Mom’s Touch official said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.