Bonchon is No. 181 on the Franchise Times Top 400, which ranks U.S.-based franchise systems by global sales.
Korean fried chicken wing franchise Bonchon forms a collaborative relationship with its operators, allowing for flexibility. That initiative, in part, contributed to higher sales in 2023.
“We’re letting our franchisees pick the right service model and type of kitchen and menu that they need, based on the market that they want to go into,” CEO Suzie Tsai said.
The franchise evaluates each location and consults with franchisees to determine what type of store layout would work best for the area, Tsai said.
“Expanding how our model works and really shifting to meet that need from a franchisee perspective was a huge win,” she said.
Bonchon, No. 181 on the Franchise Times Top 400, is up five spots on the list. Last year the brand added two new sauces—yangneyom, a sweet and spicy variety, and Korean barbecue—to its propriety sauces it’s had for two decades, Tsai said. The annual Top 400 ranking lists the largest U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales.
Chicken wings soared high in sales last year. The eight-brand category did $4.3 billion last year, a 22 percent year-over-year increase. Unit growth increased by 10.5 percent.
Wingstop is the top grower among chicken wing concepts on the list, with a 27.1% increase to $3.48 billion. The 80-unit Wings & Rings grew 25 spots to No. 265.
The chicken category as a whole did $76 billion in total sales last year, up 12 percent from 2022. Read more about the chicken segment on this year’s Franchise Times Top 400 list here.
Tsai started her CEO role in mid-2023, succeeding Bryan Shin, who took the helm of the brand just three months earlier. Now, Shin co-leads the company with Tsai as Bonchon’s international CEO. Tsai previously worked as chief growth officer at Bonchon.
Korean fried chicken differentiates itself from the American variety by its extra-crispy and super saucy exterior.
Bonchon’s relationship with its operators is an important one, Tsai said.
“We really are their partner in optimizing the right menu, the right layout and setting up the opening for success,” she said. “We call it our concierge service, making it very accommodating.”
Bonchon is mindful of all the costs franchisees may face, too.
“Our No. 1 goal is not only to build a nice, beautiful, welcoming and functioning restaurant, but also in a cost-effective way for our franchisees,” she said.
The franchise hosts “town halls” in which executives take the time to listen to franchisee feedback, so Bonchon can take action to improve the franchisee experience and unit profitability.
“We definitely take their feedback seriously and we try to act on it,” Tsai said.
Chicken prices continued to rise in 2023—and keep going up this year—which put pressure on Bonchon, which uses fresh, not frozen, chicken on its menu.
The chicken wing category is gaining new players all the time, increasing competition in the already-full sector, and restaurants that don’t focus on chicken and increasing their chicken menu options too, Tsai said.
“Everybody loves their wings, right? It’s been a challenge to continue to capture the chicken share that we need,” she said.
Tsai’s seen chicken prices increase by as much as 200 percent, “which is ridiculous,” she said.
So even over the summer when costs decreased by a small amount, she said “There has to be a different kind of solve. We’ve been looking at different types of chicken offerings. While we are very much a wings and drums restaurant, and those are the two types of chicken that we sell the most, we’ve expanded our offerings to tenders and the boneless wings as well.”