November 22, 2024

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Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun speaks during the AIB 2024 Seoul at Lotte Hotel on Thursday. (Genesis BBQ)

Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the nation's largest fried chicken franchise, shared the global success stories of the Korean fried chicken market in front of international scholars at the Academy of International Business, a prominent global association of scholars and business professionals.

Under the theme "World Changer BBQ: A Case of Global Business Innovation," Yoon presented the global status and strategy of BBQ during AIB conference, held at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul, Thursday.

"The definition of Korean food, which used to be limited to dishes like kimchi-jjigae and doenjang-jjigae has evolved," Yoon said. "K-food today represents those that have the taste of Korea, crafted by Korean brands with Korean hands."

Yoon detailed how BBQ, which began as a small Korean fried chicken company, has grown into a global franchise over two decades.

Initially, the company strategically entered key regional markets such as China and the US, and later expanded to 29 out of the 50 states in the US using a differentiation strategy. Yoon also spoke about the company's tailored market entry strategies for various regions, including Latin America, Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

A BBQ Chicken advertisement is displayed on the Times Square billboard in New York on Wednesday. (Genesis BBQ)

Established in 1959, this year's AIB conference saw participation from experts across 97 countries, including Peter Liesch, president of the AIB and professor at The University of Queensland and Gary Knight, the incoming president-elect and professor at Willamette University.

At the conference held in Seoul for the first time in 30 years, since 1995, BBQ was chosen as the only franchise company representing K-food to receive a special invitation from the AIB for this year, the company said.

"We will lead the charge for K-food, and based on our accumulated knowhow, we aim to let 8 billion people around the world taste BBQ chicken and improve their quality of life," Yoon said.

Meanwhile, BBQ has been displaying advertisements on the Times Square billboard in New York since Monday, to run until Aug. 4. The event had long been Yoon's personal dream ever since he began BBQ's global business.

Since its first overseas expansion in 2003, the chicken franchise has entered 57 countries, including the United States, Canada, Panama, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)