Korean fast-food chain Mom’s Touch has signed a master franchise agreement with Singapore’s FairPrice Group to open 25 stores over the next 10 years in the city-state. The first restaurant opens on 14 August on South Bridge Road in the central business district, with two further outlets scheduled before the end of the year.

The deal is unusual for a reason that has nothing to do with store count. As part of the agreement, Mom’s Touch obtained halal certification for the Singapore market — and says it will pursue the further certifications needed to enter consumer markets across Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

What the Singapore Master Franchise Agreement Covers

• 25 stores in Singapore over 10 years
• Master franchisee: FairPrice Group, which already operates around 80 dining venues in Singapore including food courts, hawker centres and cafes
• First store opens 14 August on South Bridge Road, near Chinatown
• Two more outlets due later in 2026
• Halal certification secured for the Singapore market as part of the deal

How the Two Sides Split the Work

Under the agreement, Mom’s Touch provides brand operation rights along with menu and restaurant management know-how. FairPrice handles restaurant development and local marketing. That is a textbook master franchise division of labour, and it is the reason the brand can commit to a hawker-centre location without building a Singapore field team from scratch.

Why FairPrice Is the Interesting Half of This Deal

A master franchisee that already runs 80 food and beverage venues brings something no amount of capital substitutes for: existing site control, landlord relationships and an operating bench. Mom’s Touch has said it plans a future opening in a local hawker centre — a format that is very hard to access without an incumbent partner.

Singapore is a strategic hub connecting to Southeast Asian markets.

Mom’s Touch official

Halal Certification Is the Real Strategic Asset

The halal work is what turns a 25-store Singapore programme into a regional platform. Certification obtained for Singapore is a credible reference point when negotiating entry into Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the GCC, where halal compliance is not a marketing feature but a licence to trade. Guidance on Singapore certification is published by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).

For a Korean fried chicken brand, this is the difference between a Northeast Asia business and a genuinely pan-Asian one. Korean QSR concepts have travelled well into Japan, Taiwan and the United States; the ASEAN and Middle East legs have historically stalled on exactly this issue.

Where Mom’s Touch Sits Globally

The brand currently operates in six countries. Japan remains its largest overseas push, where it plans to grow from five restaurants to 16 this year. Company targets put the global store count at 100 by the end of next year and 220 the year after.

Singapore is not where those numbers get made. It is where the credibility gets made — a small, expensive, extremely visible market that regional franchisees and landlords use as a reference before they sign.

The Read for Brands Looking at ASEAN

Two things stand out. Picking a master franchisee that already operates food and beverage at scale in-market compresses years off a rollout. And solving certification, licensing and compliance in the strictest market first gives you a template for the easier ones — not the other way round.

This mirrors what other Korean brands have been doing across the region, including Singapore market entry structures and the wider wave of Korean and Japanese brands entering ASEAN in 2026. See also our QSR and fried chicken category outlook and the current international franchise opportunities list.

Source: The Korea Times — Mom’s Touch enters Singapore, eyes 25 stores in 10 years