Founded in 1979, LOTTERIA has grown from South Korea’s first burger franchise into one of Asia’s largest quick service restaurant brands. Backed by LOTTE GRS, the brand operates more than 1,650 restaurants across eight countries and is recognized for combining Korean menu innovation with proven operational systems and scalable franchise partnerships. As it expands into new international markets, LOTTERIA continues to strengthen its position as a global QSR brand.
At the forefront of this expansion is Lee Kwon Hyoung, Executive Director of the Global Business Division at LOTTE GRS. In this interview with World Franchise Associates, he discusses the brand’s international growth strategy, franchise philosophy, and what it takes to build sustainable success across diverse global markets.
How long have you been in your current position and what are your key responsibilities?
I became Executive Director of the Global Business Division in 2023.
My main responsibility is making sure our current international markets run highly profitably, and leading our brand’s expansion into new countries.
Overall, how long have you been involved in franchising?
I have been working in the F&B franchising sector for over 26 years, starting back in 2000.
What do you like most about your job?
After 26 years in this industry, what excites me isn’t just opening another store or expanding our business. It’s proving that our Korea’s No.1 burger and chicken brand can win anywhere in the world. Taking a brand that has dominated our home market for decades and showing it can succeed in highly competitive, diverse countries is incredibly rewarding. Seeing our growth in new international markets proves that our products and our operational systems work on a global scale.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
The hardest part of global business is maintaining a healthy P&L in highly competitive, saturated markets. It is one thing to open new stores, but maintaining profitability over the long term is a completely different challenge. There are so many variables to consider every single day, from changing local consumer habits to intense competition, and keeping the business financially stable is a continuous balancing act.
What is it like to work with franchisees from different countries and cultures?
It’s both challenging and eye opening because you can never use a one size fits all approach. Every country has its own rhythm. Some partners want rapid decisions over quick messaging apps, while others expect detailed formal reviews and step by step consensus before moving forward. You constantly have to adjust your communication style to build real trust.
But that’s also the best part of the job. Our international partners give us the raw truth about their markets, what local competitors are doing, what marketing actually connects with their youth, and what trends are gaining traction versus what’s fading.
We take those ground level regional insights and combine them with Lotte GRS’s proven operational systems to localize our brand and menu. It’s a genuine partnership where we learn from their culture, and they leverage our brand power.
What is the main reason you are considering international franchising?
If we restrict our focus to the domestic market, we cap our long term growth. We have built a strong position in South Korea over the last 40 years, but sustained expansion requires scaling internationally. In Vietnam, where we entered through direct investment, we localized our supply chain and menu to secure top market share. In Myanmar, we achieved that same market leading position by pairing menu localization with a strong local partner. These results prove our business model scales effectively whether we operate directly or through local master franchise partners.
What is unique or special about your brand’s products and services?
Everybody sells burgers, but very few brands know how to balance strict corporate standardization with hyper local adaptation.
That is our edge. Since opening Korea’s first burger franchise, we’ve spent 45+ years perfecting items like our Bulgogi and Shrimp burgers, proving we can capture mass market loyalty. But beyond the menu, it’s our operational agility that stands out.
We don’t just build standard road shops. Our model is highly flexible. We know exactly how to maximize partner profitability by dropping customized, resilient footprints into massive international airports, major transit hubs, or mega malls, backed by an enterprise grade digital and supply chain ecosystem.
Why do you think you will be successful internationally?
We have 45+ years of rigorous QSR management experience and a highly refined operational standard dating back to 1979. We haven’t just dominated South Korea. We’ve already successfully scaled to become the No.1 QSR Burger & Chicken brand in Vietnam and Myanmar.
Our success formula internationally is built on that exact deep industry know how. We provide strategic, battle tested guidance tailored to every stage of a local partner’s business growth.
What are the priority countries or territories you are looking to develop?
Asia & Oceania
- India
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Taiwan
- Australia
- New Zealand
Middle East & Central Asia
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Kuwait
- Qatar
- Oman
- Egypt
- Turkey
- Uzbekistan
The Americas & Europe
- Canada
- Mexico
- Brazil
Why have you identified these countries and territories as a top priority?
These regions have stable economies and a massive, growing demand for Korean culture.
Young people in places like India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East are actively looking for authentic Korean food experiences, but the current supply is limited or unscalable.
We are prioritizing these specific areas because they offer the perfect mix: a hungry, trend driven customer base and the economic stability needed to grow a business quickly.
What are the main qualifications and capabilities you are looking for in a master franchisee or area developer?
- A corporate entity or business group with deep local market knowledge and management experience.
- Financial capacity to scale the brand.
- Capabilities across operations, supply chain, marketing, and sales.
- Ability to find suitable sites and manage local business resources.
- Commitment to maintaining LOTTERIA’s service and quality standards.
How long does it typically take to finalise an agreement once you find a qualified and capable master franchisee or area developer for a new market?
A standard cycle from the initial stage to executing the agreement, mapping out market entry and opening the first store typically takes about 9 months.
However, that timeline is highly elastic. The speed of a launch is entirely dictated by the partner’s operational readiness and decisiveness.
If a partner already has robust F&B operational experience, real estate and supply chain infrastructure in place and is aligned with our rapid deployment protocols, we can accelerate that timeline significantly.
Once you finalise an agreement, how long does it take for the market entry planning before you launch the business in a new market?
We save a lot of time by running our planning and legal work at the exact same time.
We don’t wait for the ink to dry on the contract to start working. While our global business development team are finalizing the master franchise agreement, our operational teams are simultaneously working with the partner on menu lineups, equipment and designs, supply chain localization, products, and pre launch GTM strategies.
Because of this parallel workstream, the transition from the final contract to the first soft launch is relatively fast.
Any advice you can share with parties who are interested in getting into franchising by acquiring rights for a local or international franchise?
My core advice for anyone acquiring international franchise rights is to look beyond the brand’s popularity and evaluate its operational foundation. Do not just fall in love with the brand’s food, fall in love with its operational engine and store experiences it provides. A great menu will get customers through the door once, but only a flawless supply chain, rigorous QA/QC, a positive store experience, and a flexible real estate strategy will make your investment profitable over a decade.
When partners work with Lotte GRS, they aren’t just licensing a menu, they are tapping into four decades of refined operational systems. For partners with strong local infrastructure and a commitment to brand quality, our role is to provide the operational framework, supply chain support, and brand equity needed to build a sustainable, market leading business together.
Any additional information you would like to share about your brand and your international expansion plans?
We are engineering our infrastructure to become a Global Top 10 Food Service Solutions Provider. My personal mission is to drive this aggressive global expansion until LOTTERIA is a ubiquitous, dominant fixture in the international QSR landscape. We are not just scaling a business. We are establishing a new global standard where LOTTERIA is universally recognized for unparalleled taste, operational excellence, and brand visibility.
Anything else that you’d like to add?
We are actively selecting exclusive master franchise partners who will dominate the F&B industry in new markets. If your organization has the local knowledge, operational discipline, and capital required to scale Korea’s No.1 QSR brand in your territory, the opportunity for an exclusive Master Franchise partnership is on the table.
To know more about LOTTERIA, click: https://worldfranchisecentre.com/franchise/lotteria/
