Burger King won’t put all eggs in burger basket; launches fried chicken
Burger King, the American burger franchise owned by Minor Food, is introducing a new fried chicken flavour, aiming to appeal to more Thais nationwide, general manager Tanawat Damnernthong said on Tuesday.
The move is part of the brand's strategic expansion plan to increase market share in terms of both sales and customer numbers.
Tanawat told a press conference that Burger King was a burger brand that had entered the Thai market later than its competitors. As a result, the brand requires more proactive measures to raise brand awareness while making it easier to satisfy all customers' demands.
Adding a new item on the menu, other than burger — its major product line — is, therefore, a significant step, he said.
"Not every individual or member of a group who enters Burger King wants to eat a burger. It also is not the staple food of Thais that they can eat on a daily basis, like rice and noodles. So we recognise that we should have other options available," he noted.
He expressed confidence that the new flavour of Thai Southern-style fried chicken, known as Hat Yai fried chicken, would be well received by Thai consumers because the flavour was the most requested by local fried-chicken lovers during market research.
Meanwhile, he said that Burger King would like to have a piece of the cake in the fried chicken quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, which is 2-3 times larger than the burger market. It is estimated that Thailand's fried-chicken market is now worth around 25 billion baht.
"Fried chicken is among the most popular foods for Thai consumers. The fried-chicken market continues to show continuous growth every year, as it is the largest segment in the QSR industry," he pointed out.
Burger King has introduced many variations in its Chicken King range over the years to meet the needs of the market, he said, adding that this was one of its strategies to bring its consumers closer to the brand through its products, such as Tomyum Chicken King, which have all been well-received by consumers.
However, the brand did not anticipate a significant increase in sales from the new fried-chicken menu. Its goal is to broaden its customer base.
"The new menu is like an extra option. Burger is still our top priority", he said, adding that the non-burger product line will account for about 10% of the brand's total sales.
Hatyai Chicken King fried chicken, a popular Thai dish, would broaden the brand's fried-chicken line by offering a wider variety in the face of fierce competition in the QSR industry, particularly the rapidly growing fried-chicken market, he insisted.
In terms of the overall business, he said the brand had experienced significant growth during the first seven months of this year as a result of the tourism industry's recovery.
In addition, due to viral campaigns such as the massive cheese-only burger, the brand could break two new all-time sales records in April and July.
He said the brand could maintain its growth across all distribution channels, which Tanawat attributed to the availability of 24/7 service for dine-in, takeaway, delivery, and pick up.
The brand intends to open six new branches in Bangkok and other tourist destinations, such as Pattaya and Phuket, in the second half of this year, with the goal of adding around 10 new branches per year.
