Line of customers waiting in front of the 'Shibuya Mom's Touch' store in Tokyo, Japan, in Oct. 2023. /Mom's Touch

Mom’s Touch, a South Korean chicken and burger franchise, announced on Apr. 16 that it has officially entered the Japanese market with the opening of its first overseas directly-managed store in Shibuya, Tokyo.

This opening was prompted by the positive reaction of a pop-up store that operated for three weeks last October, which attracted an average of 1,000 visitors per day.

Shibuya Mom’s Touch opened in the location previously occupied by McDonald’s for 39 years. The building has three floors, including a basement level, with a total area of about 418 square meters. The restaurant can seat up to 220 customers.

The Shibuya store is situated in a prime location near the famous Shibuya Scramble Square, Shibuya Station, and major shopping malls. Mom’s Touch aims to offer a unique brand experience not only to Japanese customers but also to international tourists. By doing so, they hope to maximize their promotional impact.

The menu features Mom’s Touch’s signature ‘Thigh Burger’ and Korean-style seasoned chicken, which were popular in pre-launch surveys conducted with Japanese customers.

Shibuya Mom’s Touch operates with reservations and walk-ins, and before its official opening, all 13,000 reservation slots for the first two weeks were quickly sold out. The brand also filled the area around Shibuya with yellow balloons, their brand color, as part of the opening day festivities.

With the management of this directly-operated store, Mom’s Touch plans to explore potential franchise partners to quickly expand its business in the Japanese market.

Additionally, the launch in Japan marks an acceleration in Mom’s Touch’s global business expansion. The brand has already entered Thailand (6 stores) and Mongolia (4 stores) under a master franchise (MF) model and currently operates stores there. Plans are to expand to 12 stores in Thailand and 10 in Mongolia by the end of the year.