"Scared to Dine Out"...The Era of 30,000 Won Chicken Prices

Kyochon Raises Prices on Key Menu Items by up to 3,000 KRW
With Delivery Fees of 2,000 to 6,000 KRW, Total Can Reach 30,000 KRW
Consumers Worry Domino Effect of Industry-Wide Price Hikes May Spread

The price of chicken, once called a ‘commoner's food,’ has steadily risen, and with delivery fees included, it has reached up to 30,000 won. There are concerns that the previously slowing rise in dining-out prices may start climbing sharply again.

(From the left) Kyochon Chicken's Honey Combo, BBQ's Golden Olive Chicken, bhc Chicken's Bburinkle.
[Photo by each company]

According to the related industry on the 7th, Kyochon Chicken raised the price of a whole chicken and partial meat menus, excluding some new products, by up to 3,000 won starting from the 3rd.

This price adjustment comes about a year and a half after the last increase in November 2021. Kyochon’s signature menu, the Honey Combo, was raised from 18,000 won to 20,000 won at that time, and with the additional 3,000 won increase on the 3rd of this month, it has risen a total of 5,000 won over the past two years to 23,000 won.

Kyochon explained that the increase in consumer prices was inevitable due to the worsening operating environment for franchise stores caused by rising operating costs such as rent, labor costs, various fees, and recently, a significant increase in raw material prices.

When adding delivery fees (2,000 to 6,000 won), the perceived price for consumers becomes even higher. The era of ‘30,000 won for one chicken’ has become a reality.

Kyochon Chicken was the first in the industry to introduce a delivery fee of 2,000 won per order in May 2018, ushering in the era of paid delivery in the dining franchise industry. Later, in July 2021, delivery fees were increased by an additional 1,000 won in some areas of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

Therefore, with Kyochon leading the way in raising chicken prices this time, there is an analysis that a wave of price increases will spread across the industry in the mid to long term. Previously, after Kyochon raised prices in November 2021, bhc followed suit a month later in December, and BBQ raised prices six months later in May of the following year.

For now, both bhc and BBQ have stated that they have no plans to raise prices. However, the factors driving price increases are piling up. According to the Korea Broiler Association, the recent live broiler price has hovered around 3,000 won per kilogram, reaching the highest level in 36 years since 1987.

Price increases in fast-food franchises that use chicken as the main ingredient have been ongoing since early this year. Mom’s Touch raised prices on 43 out of 78 menu items by an average of 5.7% earlier this month, and KFC raised chicken prices by an average of 100 won starting from the 7th of last month.

If the government raises electricity and gas rates in the second quarter (April to June), operating costs for dining-out businesses will increase, potentially causing a larger rise in dining-out prices. According to Statistics Korea, although the dining-out price inflation rate, which led high inflation last year, has been declining for five consecutive months from October last year (8.9%) to last month (7.5%), it has rarely fallen below 7%.