"Annual Sales Target of 10 Billion KRW"... Harim Launches Maxican Frozen Chicken

May 15 Pop-up for Maxican Frozen Chicken in Seongsu-dong
Chairman Kim Hongguk Attends in Person
Maxican CEO is Chairman Kim's Spouse, Oh Sujeong
Twelve New Products Including Frozen Chicken Unveiled

Harim has launched a new line of frozen chicken products under its subsidiary chicken franchise brand, Maxican.

On the morning of May 15, Kim Hongguk, Chairman of Harim Group, introduced the brand at the 'Janghada Harim Maxican' pop-up store held in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, saying, "We launched the brand while reminiscing about the old Maxican."

Maxican Chicken, which began as 'Gyesung Tongdak' in Hyomok-dong, Daegu in 1985, is recognized as one of Korea's first-generation chicken brands, alongside Pelicana Chicken and Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken. Kim Hongguk's spouse, Oh Sujeong, has served as CEO since 2016, jointly leading Maxican with Jung Sammo, who previously headed Harim Distribution. Maxican is wholly owned by Harim Holdings. According to the Fair Trade Commission's Franchise Business Information Provision System, Maxican had 434 franchise locations as of last year.

On the 15th, Kim Hongguk, Chairman of Harim Group, attended and spoke at the 'Janghada Harim Mexican' pop-up store held in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Han Yeju

Harim plans to leverage Maxican's accumulated experience to introduce frozen chicken and sauces at a specialty shop level. This year, the sales target for Maxican frozen chicken is 10 billion KRW.

Chairman Kim stated, "Maxican was the first brand in Korea to create yangnyeom tongdak (seasoned fried chicken). Harim has developed the poultry industry into an advanced chicken industry, and when Harim does something, other companies follow?serving as a leading company." He emphasized, "Maxican was synonymous with seasoned fried chicken, and Harim was synonymous with chicken. We did not launch a new brand, but rather launched the brand while recalling the old Maxican."

Harim is seeking to revitalize the Maxican brand through its frozen chicken lineup. The frozen chicken market is rapidly growing due to rising dining-out prices and delivery fees. According to market research firm NielsenIQ Korea, the domestic frozen chicken market reached approximately 164.1 billion KRW in 2023, an increase of over 10% from the previous year. A similar growth trend is believed to have continued last year.

Harim has set the price of the new Maxican products at under 10,000 KRW. The new lineup consists of a total of 12 items: eight types of frozen chicken, three types of sauces, and one type of stir-fried noodles. The price for 300g of frozen chicken is 9,800 KRW, sauces are priced at 6,500 KRW, and the stir-fried noodles are in the 2,000 KRW range. Jeong Yerim, Harim's brand manager, explained, "We aimed to lower the purchase barrier by setting the price under 10,000 KRW and to introduce the products to many customers."

Chairman Hongkuk Kim of Harim Group holding a newly launched frozen chicken product by Maxican. Harim Industries

The key differentiator from other frozen chicken products is the quality of the raw chicken. The boneless chicken products use 100% domestically sourced chicken thigh meat, while the drumstick products use fresh, domestically sourced chicken drumettes to set themselves apart.

Consultations with Maxican franchise owners have also been completed. Manager Jeong stated, "There were many internal discussions, and the event is being held in collaboration with Maxican franchisees. Since the target customers for delivery chicken and frozen chicken are different, we believe this will be an opportunity to widely promote Maxican." She also added, "We expect both offline and online growth to be possible."

Meanwhile, last year Harim sold its management rights in DDFNB, the operator of Didi Chicken, and merged Harim Distribution into Maxican as part of efforts to strengthen the Maxican brand. Didi Chicken, a brand operated by Harim since 2008, was sold to HCG in the second half of last year as Harim found it difficult to operate two franchise brands simultaneously due to Fair Trade Commission regulations. Harim Distribution, a subsidiary selling Harim's broiler chickens, seasonings, and other consumables, was wholly owned by Harim Holdings but was merged into Maxican in April last year.