Popup Store in Gangnam, Seoul on the 31st
First Time in 4 Years Since COVID-19 in 2019
Featuring Signature Menus Like Double Double Burger
The pop-up store operated on the 31st by In-N-Out Burger, known as one of the "Big Three Burgers" in the United States, attracted crowds even before opening, causing a so-called "open run" phenomenon due to its popularity.
On the 31st, at an In-N-Out Burger pop-up store held at a restaurant in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, an employee is holding the signature Double-Double burger and potato chips. Photo by Moon Hyewon
On that day, In-N-Out Burger rented a restaurant in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and sold signature menu items such as the Double-Double Burger and Cheeseburger, along with beverages, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In front of the restaurant, customers began lining up as early as 6 a.m., well before the pop-up store opened, creating an open run situation. By 11:30 a.m., when operations started, all 500 prepared burgers had already been sold.
Staff distributed wristbands to customers waiting in line to confirm that the 500 people who had been in line could enter the store, minimizing confusion on site.
Customers are waiting to enter the In-N-Out Burger pop-up store held at a restaurant in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Moon Hyewon
At the event, Luis Hernandez, the foreign event manager from the U.S. headquarters, said, "In-N-Out has come only to Korea among Asian countries, not Japan or China. Korea is the country of BTS," adding, "Although there are no plans to open a permanent store yet, we want to visit more often to meet Korean consumers and let them taste our signature Double-Double Burger."
Headquartered in California, USA, In-N-Out Burger is considered one of the top three American craft burger brands alongside Shake Shack and Five Guys.
Previously, In-N-Out held pop-up stores in Korea three times?in 2012, 2015, and 2019. Each time, all prepared menu items were sold out, attracting large crowds of citizens. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pop-up store was reopened this year after four years. The pop-up store operations are directly managed by the U.S. headquarters, and each opening has sparked speculation about a possible entry into the Korean market.
Recently, as demand for craft burgers among Korean consumers has grown, the possibility of In-N-Out entering the domestic market has been steadily raised within and outside the industry. According to the global market research firm Euromonitor, the domestic burger market size grew from 1.9 trillion won in 2013 to 3.03 trillion won in 2019, and reached 3.8 trillion won last year.
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