The brand philosophy Tim Hortons pursues is "Canadian comfort food." We are investing heavily in menu planning so customers can feel both comfort and novelty at Tim Hortons. Korea has moved beyond bringing in the global headquarters menu as is and has become a "menu development hub" that proposes recipes to stores worldwide.
Tim Hortons, known as Canada's "national coffee," is marking its third year in Korea by strengthening its localization strategy. On the 29th in Jongno-gu, Seoul, at Tim Hortons Korea headquarters, Cho Hye-min, Head of Team of the merchandising team, said, "We hope consumers will fully empathize with and be immersed in the philosophy Tim Hortons pursues." Cho worked as a merchandiser for 17 years at major cafe brands in Korea. Cho joined Tim Hortons last year.
Tim Hortons opened its first store, Sinnonhyeon, on Gangnam-daero in Dec. 2023, kicking off its business in Korea. It operates more than 6,000 stores in 20 countries worldwide. Cho, Head of Team, said, "For two years after Tim Hortons launched in Korea, it was a time to implement and learn the global standard in Korea," adding, "On that foundation, which we have internalized, we began full-fledged localization last year. The pace will pick up even more this year."
Tim Hortons has recently been rolling out a slew of independently developed menus tailored to the tastes and food culture of Korean consumers. Cho, Head of Team, said, "The number of new products to be released in the first half of this year is about twice as many as the number released in the two years since Tim Hortons launched in the Korean market."
Menus planned in Korea are also seeing success being exported in reverse to overseas stores. The "city campaign" menu, exported in reverse to Singapore and Malaysia, is a prime example. According to Cho, Head of Team, global headquarters has begun to see the Korean market not simply as a local subsidiary but as a hub that experiments with fast-moving trends and proposes menu direction.
To expand the lineup of Korea-only menus, Tim Hortons tests more than 100 prototypes every week. About 20 are shortlisted in the first round for another tasting panel, and after reviewing whether they can be commercialized, about five menus are ultimately selected. Operating a dedicated kitchen of about 5 pyeong in every store, called "Tim's Kitchen," and cooking to order is also a Tim Hortons hallmark that prioritizes quality.
Cho, Head of Team, said, "The most important part of menu planning is whether this menu feels Tim Hortons-like. Even if it's tasty and trendy, if it doesn't feel like Tim Hortons, we boldly eliminate it," adding, "Under the philosophy of 'Canadian comfort food,' we consider taste, visual aspects, and even the situations in which consumers enjoy the product." The following is a Q&A.
—The share of local menu development has increased significantly. Was there a special trigger?
It was the roadmap from the start. Tim Hortons is a brand with high recognition, but not many people had actually experienced it. At first, it was a time to let people know, "Our brand is doing this." Now we believe we've moved to the next chapter. We want to show that "Tim Hortons can do these kinds of products, too." The in-store cooking space, "Tim's Kitchen," has been in every store since the beginning. In terms of expense, it can be inefficient, but we believe Tim's Kitchen allows us to achieve high quality.
—How does the new product development process work? We heard you test more than 100 items every week.
That's right. It's to carry multiple hands from Plan A to B, C, and D at the same time. That's because the market landscape can change while decisions are made and materials and supplies are ordered and brought in. For example, in the case of donuts, it takes at least four months for materials and supplies to arrive from overseas. When global conditions are unstable like now, the period gets longer. By contrast, Korean trends move very fast. Securing variety is essential to keep up with this pace. In practice, about five out of 100 items, probabilistically, make it to store launch.
—How are the items tested composed?
About 30% of the 100 are global products not yet introduced in Korea that we adapt into Korean versions. Chili soup is an example. Sometimes there are materials and supplies that are hard to bring in by Korean standards, or we need to change the production method. Another 30% are idea products that reflect rapidly changing trends. For example, we consider whether to use ube in a beverage, in a donut, or in a third format. The remaining roughly 40% involves expanding and varying the basic lineup, such as sandwiches and salads.
—What is the strictest criterion?
The most important criterion is whether it feels Tim Hortons-like. It's not easy to define in a word, but to avoid becoming a cookie-cutter cafe, we believe we need our own distinctive edge. That difference can come from taste, from visual completeness, or from the situations in which customers enjoy the product.
We also have to meet global guidelines. Tim Hortons meticulously designs everything, from product aromas to cooking methods and manuals, even setting size standards by materials and supplies. In the case of chili soup, we even adjusted the intensity of the aroma so that, when cooking in the store, the space would still be filled with the scent of coffee rather than soup. That's to avoid losing our identity as a cafe. It took nearly a year to launch chili soup in Korea to meet all these criteria."
—The "city campaign" menus planned in Korea have been exported in reverse overseas.
Global interest in products launched in Korea is high. On social media, there are comments in foreign languages like, "Why isn't this menu in our country?" and "Please launch it in our country, too." That's the backdrop for exporting menus in reverse to Singapore and Malaysia. It became a big topic globally, and there was even a session where chefs from around the world gathered for a convention themed on Korea's city campaign beverages.
In the past, we had to explain and persuade headquarters about Korea's culture of eating seasonal foods and fruits. Now Korea's "Seasonal Core" strategy has become a coveted benchmarking point overseas. Korea has taken on a role as a menu development hub, with the global side listening closely to the trends Korea proposes. Tim Hortons and customers worldwide are showing interest in Korean menus and requesting launches in their countries.
—If there are unique tastes or requirements of Korean consumers, what are they?
Texture and color. To satisfy Korean consumers, you can't miss texture, like the crispiness of Dubai chocolate cookies and the chewiness of butter tteok. Also, experiences like consuming a primary green like matcha in food and drinking a purple beverage like ube with coffee have become important. Ingredients like purple sweet potato used to be background players, but now menus that foreground such a deep purple get a response. Ube menus, of course, and the Icecap bingsu slated for release this month, which is modeled on the layers of a saekdong jeogori, are the results of meticulous design to meet Korean consumers' high standards.
—From a brand perspective, the in-store cooking system, "Tim's Kitchen," could be inefficient.
Tim's Kitchen is the secret that creates an overwhelming difference in quality, such as texture and temperature, compared to other brands. More than 70% of all products, including most of our core offerings, are cooked right in the store. Because we have Tim's Kitchen, we can use a wider variety of ingredients in our menus. For example, avocados often discolor during distribution, so they are commonly used as guacamole, but Tim Hortons can use the whole fruit because we cook directly in the store.
Going forward, we plan to further expand "light meal" menus enjoyed in cafes. We will continue to introduce high-quality foods that are convenient to eat while working in a cafe and maintain freshness and temperature even when eaten in the office."
—What goals do you want to achieve at Tim Hortons?
The faster new products come out, the more important it is to have a central axis and protect brand identity. Under the philosophy of "Canadian comfort food," we want to deliver value to consumers beyond quality and taste. Since we don't have many stores yet, we believe we have the resilience to keep our original intention. The care that doesn't feel like processed food and the insistence on adding fresh yogurt behind the scenes come together to complete Tim Hortons' own "unfamiliar comfort." We will continue to serve as a product development hub that rewrites global standards to meet the high expectations of Korean consumers.