Customizing menus for the young

From premium kimbap to a distinctive fusion menu that blends Korean and Japanese flavors

The reason why Samchungdang has become so popular among the younger generation who avoid carbohydrates is that instead of the white rice used in the basic gimbap, it can be replaced with brown rice, zidan, grape bou, and buckwheat soba. It is popular among customers with premium menus that cannot be found in existing kimbap restaurants, such as avocado pollack roe kimbap, aged tuna kimbap that targets the taste of Koreans, and egg kimbap with pollack roe mayo sauce. It is opening a new chapter in the premium kimbap market by leading to high levels of satisfaction. In addition to kimbap, the restaurant is attracting dinners with pollack roe butter udon, bacon pollack roe cream oven, kitsune udon, beef pork belly, and green onion tteokbokki. Since it values food quality, it distributes ingredients to franchise stores across the country through Samsung Welstory six days a week. For seaweed and rice, they are especially careful about the variety, and even if franchisees want to buy it, they first check that the variety is the same. 

▲ Samchungdang / CEOs Kim Yoo bin, Kim Han gil

Growth is fueled by small startups and strong trust with franchisee

Given the high volume of packaging and the high demand for delivery, Samchungdang specializes in small-scale startups that can operate in small spaces. CEO Kim says “Our main store in Hongdae is 6 square meters, and we have other stores starting at 12 square meters. It costs about 40 million won for the 12 size, and the 30 size is currently available for 50 million won. The merit of starting a small business is not only the small capital, but also the price per line is higher than the existing packaged gimbap because it is mainly premium menu. You may think that the price is too high for a single kimbap and not competitive, but I hope you realize that consumers love kimbap priced at 6,000 won for delicious and healthy food.” The company operates 20 franchise stores and 6 directly managed stores, including stores under contract and under construction. The main store in Hongdae does not deliver orders due to the backlog of packaging alone, while the Sky City store in Yeongjong-do, Incheon, has a very high delivery rate. The company maintains a strong relationship with its franchisees by allowing them to have autonomy, even allowing them to purchase general-purpose products such as vegetables in addition to branded sauces. Kim says “Our growth is driven by trust between franchisees and headquarters, and we keep the distance between stores. Regardless of sales, I think it’s important for us and our franchisees to work together to move forward.” The reason Kim cares so much about each franchisee is because he’s had his share of failures and struggles. He first brought the concept of a bunless burger called Sloppy Joe to Korea and invested his entire fortune to open Sloppy Burger, but the results were disastrous. Kim says “I don’t think I would have gone down that path if someone had been there to give me practical advice or help.

Now, I want to be someone who can help and guide someone, and that’s part of what being a franchisee is all about.” Samchungdang has also become popular in Japan, where it has begun to expand its franchisees. Kim says “We are currently delivering to Ghost Kitchen in Shimbashi, a neighborhood near Tokyo Tower. Sales were good there, so we decided to move into department stores.” He said that Samcheongdang will be available in Japanese department stores around October and November.