Since opening its first café in 2000, Angel-in-us Coffee has evolved into one of South Korea’s leading café brands by combining premium coffee, fresh bakery offerings, and contemporary café experiences under one concept. Supported by LOTTE GRS’s proven franchise systems and operational expertise, the brand is now focused on expanding into international markets with experienced master franchise partners.
Speaking with World Franchise Associates, Lee Kwon Hyoung, Executive Director of the Global Business Division at LOTTE GRS, discusses the brand’s international franchise strategy, operational philosophy, and vision for building Angel-in-us Coffee into a globally recognized Korean café brand.
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 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 food 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 the real challenge is keeping them profitable over the long term.
You have to constantly manage rising costs, optimize supply chains, and minimize expenses just to protect your net profits.
There are so many moving parts 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 business culture. Some partners want aggressive marketing and rapid menu localization from day one, while others prefer a more cautious, step by step approach. You constantly have to adapt your leadership style to align with their local market preferences.
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 taking off versus what’s fading out.
We take those ground level insights and combine them with Lotte GRS’s 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 franchise partners.
What is unique or special about your brand’s products and services?
We are exporting the complete “K Cafe” lifestyle. We have seamlessly integrated specialty coffee, fresh bakery items, and light meals into a single, stylish, high dwell time environment.
Furthermore, our product quality is driven by our specialized, proprietary roasting techniques and continuous menu innovation, all heavily underwritten by Lotte GRS’s massive enterprise level supply chain and operational expertise.
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. 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?
South East Asia & Asia
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Cambodia
- India
Middle East
- UAE
The Americas & Global
- Canada
- South America
- Worldwide
Why have you identified these countries and territories as a top priority?
We are starting with Southeast Asia because the younger demographics there already actively seek out Korean trends.
At the same time, we are focusing on the Middle East, starting with the UAE, because there is a strong local demand for premium, comfortable cafe spaces.
Once these regional hubs are locked in, our next step is expanding into the Americas and the rest of the world.
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 6 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 legal teams 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. A great menu drives initial trial, but long term profitability relies on a resilient supply chain, consistent quality standards, and adaptable real estate strategies.
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 Angel-in-us is a ubiquitous, dominant fixture in the international coffee franchise market. We are not just scaling a business; we are establishing a new global standard where Angel-in-us 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 Angel-in-us Coffee, click: https://worldfranchisecentre.com/franchise/angel-in-us-coffee/
