Some Bonchon franchise owners first experience the brand on the other side of the counter. They visit a restaurant, try Bonchon’s signature Korean fried chicken and become regular customers. Eventually, they wonder if they could be the one to bring the same experience to their own community. It’s something Bonchon CEO Suzie Tsai has seen repeatedly. When she asks franchise owners why they chose Bonchon, the answer often begins with the product.

“One of the first questions I ask our franchise partners is, ‘Why Bonchon?’” Tsai said. “Oftentimes, their number one answer is because they love the food. They were a customer first. They were a guest at our restaurant, tried our product and then that compelled them to look into, ‘How do I make this my own?’”

That progression from guest to fan to franchise owner has become an important part of Bonchon’s growth story. It also gives prospective owners something that cannot be replicated in a franchise presentation: firsthand experience with the product and customer demand.

When Customer Loyalty Leads to Ownership

Investing in a franchise requires a much larger commitment than choosing where to eat dinner. Prospective owners are putting their savings, time and reputation behind a business, making trust in the concept an important part of the decision.

Bonchon can begin building that trust before a prospective franchisee ever enters the development process. Customers have already experienced the food and hospitality themselves and seen the brand’s consistency firsthand. They have also watched friends, family members and other guests respond to the brand.

“They love the food, they love the experience as a guest and then they feel like it is something that can be duplicated,” Tsai said. “There is that level of trust that they feel like they can get into a system. Ultimately, it is always the food because they constantly come back to the chicken, the sauces and the flavors. They feel like they can have a team, run a team or build a restaurant that can execute this consistently.”

Bonchon has spent more than 20 years building that consistency. Founded in Busan, South Korea, the brand became known for its signature double-fried Korean fried chicken and hand-brushed sauces before expanding internationally and eventually growing to more than 500 locations globally.

That history is particularly relevant as Korean food and culture continue gaining attention in the U.S. Bonchon benefits from that growing interest, but its history also shows prospective franchisees that the concept predates the current cultural moment.

“They sense this real staying power, especially in our category because the Korean trend is so big right now,” Tsai said. “We’ve been around for 20 years. They see that we were here before this popularity started, and we’re still going. I think that energizes them even more.”

One Family’s Trip Led to a Bigger Idea

The customer-to-owner journey recently played out in an unexpected way for Bonchon’s incoming franchise partner in Puerto Rico. A family was planning a trip from Puerto Rico to the U.S. when their 16-year-old daughter added Bonchon to the itinerary. She wanted to try the Korean fried chicken she had already heard about.

“They told us, ‘We love the food, but how we love the food is because of our daughter,’” Tsai said. “They were planning a visit to the U.S., going to New York and all of these cities, and she specifically said, ‘We have to go to Bonchon. I want to eat Korean fried chicken at Bonchon.’ They went and had a great experience, and they understood why she wanted to go and why there was such a following. Then they decided, ‘We need to bring this to Puerto Rico.’”

The family is now preparing to open Bonchon in Puerto Rico, turning their child’s enthusiasm for the brand into a new market for the franchise.

A Proven System Turns Brand Fans Into Business Owners

Loving Bonchon may introduce prospective franchisees to the opportunity, but Tsai recognizes that enthusiasm for the product alone is not enough to build a restaurant. As prospective owners move through the franchise development process, they learn about the people, processes and infrastructure behind the customer experience they already know. That is where the emotional connection to Bonchon begins to meet the practical realities of operating a business.

“They see that there is a real way to build a business around this model,” Tsai said. “They see real people and a real operating model. It’s not just an idea on paper. They walk away with this trust in the brand because there are people with experience behind it. They also connect with the fact that they’re not starting something from scratch. There is a process here and real know-how to build a restaurant and run the restaurant.”

First-time entrepreneurs coming from other industries can find that distinction particularly important. The customer experience may be what first makes them imagine owning a Bonchon, while the franchise system provides the structure to pursue it.

Bonchon’s Franchisees Become Its Customers

The relationship does not stop once a loyal customer signs a franchise agreement. Instead, Bonchon sees the roles reverse. The franchisee may be responsible for serving guests in the restaurant, but at the corporate level, Tsai says Bonchon is responsible for serving its franchise owners.

“Our franchisees are our number one customer,” Tsai said. “They’re the first ones that we have to support and who we’re really serving, and then they serve our guests. That loyalty and conviction for the brand is real from our guests to our franchise operators and to us.”

It creates a cycle that starts and ends with earning loyalty. Bonchon works to give guests a food experience strong enough to earn another visit. Those guests tell friends and family about the brand, share it on social media and, in some cases, begin imagining what it would be like to own a restaurant themselves. Once they become franchisees, Bonchon has the new responsibility of giving them the support and infrastructure that can earn their continued investment in the system.

“We’re really trying to earn that next visit and that next unit from our franchisee,” Tsai said.

A loyal Bonchon customer can represent far more than another transaction. The person coming back for another order of Korean fried chicken could eventually be the one bringing Bonchon to an entirely new community.

For more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/bonchon.