Chipotle in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 1, a day before the official opening on Sept. 2.DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ
Chipotle Mexican Grill opens its first restaurant in Asia on Wednesday in southern Seoul, making Korea the entry point into the region for the U.S. chain.
"We chose Korea and our partners at SPC with great intention," Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright told reporters at a press event in southern Seoul on Tuesday. "Korea is really more than just our first market in Asia. It will help establish a standard in how we grow across the region."
Chipotle opens the 96-seat restaurant in Asia on Wednesday in Seocho District, southern Seoul, a few steps from Exit 10 of Gangnam Station.
Chipotle was founded in Denver in 1993 and has traded on the New York Stock Exchange since January 2006 under the ticker CMG. The chain has more than 4,200 restaurants in 10 countries, about 140,000 employees, more than 2 million customers a day and 23 million active rewards members.
Diners choose a burrito, burrito bowl, salad, tacos or quesadilla, then a protein, then work down a line of some 50 ingredients. Chipotle enters a Seoul market where domestic operators already sell build-your-own bowls at lower price points.
The Korean business will be operated by Big Bite Company, an affiliate of SPC Group, the Korean food conglomerate behind brands like Paris Baguette, Baskin Robbins and Dunkin' in Korea.
Chips, drinks, a burrito and a bowl of barbacoa and guacamole ordered at Chipotle in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 1, a day before the official opening on Sept. 2.KIM MIN-YOUNG
Big Bite Company already runs local Shake Shack and Jamba locations, and has secured exclusive operational rights for both Korea and Singapore through S&C Restaurants Holdings, a joint venture with Chipotle. The deal marks Chipotle's first-ever international expansion through a joint venture, a departure from the direct development agreements it has used elsewhere.
Hur Hee-soo, chief vision officer of Sangmidang Holdings, said the operator deliberately resisted the instinct to adapt the brand.
"When we review a new brand, the first question we ask is whether it can survive in Korea while keeping its originality," he said. "With Chipotle it was clear. The ingredients, the cooking methods and the experience delivered through them are the core of the brand."
Staff at Chipotle in Seocho District, southern Seoul, serve the press food on Sept. 1, a day before the official opening on Sept. 2.KIM MIN-YOUNG
Most ingredients are sourced domestically. "Most of the ingredients that you'll have in this restaurant today were sourced here in Korea," Boatwright said. He said the local produce compared well with any market the chain operates in.
The pricing structure is where the operator is making its clearest bet. Hur said prices will not vary by menu format: a burrito, burrito bowl, tacos and salad with the same protein cost the same. Additions including rice, beans, salsa, cheese, sour cream, fajita vegetables and lettuce carry no surcharge, and larger portions of them do not raise the price.
"Chipotle is not a brand that presents the right answer," Hur said. "We show the ingredients transparently and leave the choice to the customer."
Expansion will be slower than recent foreign-brand launches in Korea. Hur said second and third restaurants are being prepared before the end of this year and that all locations will be company-operated, with no franchising, to hold quality and service consistent.
Big Bite also plans to develop and supply ingredients locally over time, extending the approach it uses with Shake Shack, for which it produces buns domestically.
