U.S. Mexican dining franchise Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened its first Asia location in Korea. It plans to use Korea as a forward base for its Asia business and expand the market.
On the 1st, Chipotle held a media briefing at Chipotle Gangnam in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to mark its entry into Korea and unveiled its brand philosophy and domestic business strategy. The Gangnam location is set to officially open on the 2nd. It is Chipotle's first store in Korea and its first in Asia.
Scott Boatwright, Chipotle chief executive officer (CEO), who attended the briefing, said, "Success in Korea will serve as the benchmark for expanding our business across Asia."
Chipotle is a Mexican fast-casual brand launched in the United States in 1993. Its ordering style features customers choosing burritos, bowls, tacos, or salads, then combining their desired protein and toppings.
All ingredients are prepped and cooked in-store. Chipotle said it maintains a principle of not using artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
Korea was chosen as Chipotle's first entry point into Asia due to consumers' strong interest in food quality and a culture of personalized consumption.
Boatwright said, "Korean consumers are highly interested in the quality of ingredients, the supply process, and how food is prepared, and they place importance on what goes into what they eat," adding, "We judged that this consumer inclination aligns well with Chipotle's brand philosophy."
He added, "We source most of the ingredients used in our restaurants in Korea and prepare food fresh every day using traditional cooking methods."
The domestic business will be operated through S&C Restaurant Holdings (S&C), a joint venture (JV) established by Big Bite Company, an affiliate of Sangmidang Holdings, and Chipotle. This is the first time Chipotle has chosen a joint-venture model for its overseas business.
Boatwright said, "After comprehensively reviewing market characteristics and our partner's expertise, we determined that this joint venture is the most suitable structure," adding, "We see significant long-term growth potential not only in Korea but across the broader Asian market."
Hur Hee-soo, president of Sangmidang Holdings, said the focus in the Korean market was on preserving the brand's original form rather than localization. Hur said, "When bringing an overseas brand into the country, there are two approaches—localization and maintaining originality—and we judged that faithfully realizing the brand's core experience itself is important for Chipotle," adding, "What we spent the most time on was not the interior or the store, but building a supply chain that meets Chipotle's standards."
In a follow-up Q&A, Hur said that while the company plans to open the second and third Chipotle locations in Korea within the year, all stores will be operated directly. Hur said, "Providing the same quality and customer experience at any location is more important than rapidly increasing the number of stores," adding, "In Korea, we plan to maintain a directly managed system without a franchise model."
The company will also pursue ingredient development using the Korean supply chain. Hur said, "As we directly produced and supplied buns at Shake Shack, we plan to research and supply a variety of ingredients used in burritos beyond tortillas."