bhc, one of South Korea’s biggest fried chicken chains, has opened its first restaurant in the Philippines, planting its flag at SM North EDSA in Quezon City — one of the country’s largest shopping malls. The debut, operated under a master franchise agreement with Philippine retail group Suyen Corporation, extends the brand’s Southeast Asia footprint and adds another chapter to the Korean F&B wave sweeping the region.
Parent company Dining Brands Group chose SM North EDSA for its heavy foot traffic from families and younger shoppers, giving bhc immediate visibility as it builds recognition in a market where Korean food culture already commands a loyal following. Group CEO Song Ho-sup attended the opening ceremony in late July.
The roughly 1,900-square-foot store seats 86 guests and runs on a limited-service model designed for mall customers with shorter visit times, letting the kitchen turn out freshly cooked orders quickly.
The Manila opening did not happen overnight. It follows a July 2024 site agreement with mall operator SM Supermalls and a master franchise agreement with Suyen Corporation, the retail group behind some of the Philippines’ best-known consumer brands. The first store arrived roughly a year later, after what the company describes as extensive local market analysis.
That sequencing — secure a strong local master franchisee first, then real estate, then launch — mirrors the playbook most successful international F&B brands follow when entering Southeast Asia. A partner with local retail infrastructure, mall relationships and consumer insight materially de-risks a first store.
The store serves bhc’s fried and seasoned chicken with its signature flavors — Bburinkle, Hot Bburinkle, Matchoking and Red King — by the piece with six dipping sauces. Reflecting local dining habits, it also offers meal-style combos built around chicken-and-rice sets, three chicken burgers, and Korean staples such as japchae and tteokbokki. It is also the brand’s first location anywhere to roll out Filipino-style spaghetti, the sweeter local favorite.
“We built our menu lineup strategically around local food culture and dining patterns.”
— Nam Hwa-yeon, Executive Managing Director for Overseas Business, Dining Brands Group
Korean chicken has become one of the most exportable QSR categories in Asia Pacific, and the Philippines — with its strong dining-out culture and deep affinity for Korean brands — is a natural next market. For franchisors watching the region, the bhc launch underlines two lessons: category momentum matters, but so does structure. A well-chosen master franchise partner with retail muscle can compress years of market-entry risk into a disciplined, single-store proof of concept — with a pipeline behind it. Dining Brands Group says this first location is only the start of its Philippine expansion.
Source: The Korea Times — Bhc opens 1st Philippine store, tailoring menu to local tastes
