Mom’s Touch takes unique marketing strategy to drive Japan sales

South Korean franchise Mom's Touch announced on Wednesday a series of collaborative marketing initiatives at its recently opened store in Tokyo, partnering with various industries, from Samsung’s Galaxy brand to Samyang’s Buldak ramyeon.

Since its opening in April, the Shibuya store in Tokyo has attracted 100,000 cumulative customers and generated 100 million yen ($0.7 million) in sales within 40 days.

As part of the move to further boost sales, the store offers free burger-to-set upgrade coupons for customers visiting Samsung’s Galaxy Experience Space event also held in Shibuya, until Aug. 6. Mom's Touch is promoting the Galaxy pop-up event primarily to its 20s and 30s customer base through in-store information displays.

Meanwhile, the chicken and burger brand will also be collaborating with Samyang Foods to introduce special side menu items featuring the spicy sauce of the Korean ramyeon maker's global sensation Buldak series, starting Aug. 1.

The new menu item, called "gim-tteok-man," a combination of "gimmari," dried seaweed rolls; "tteok," Korean ricecakes; and small "mandu," Korean dumplings; is stir-fried with buldak sauce, offering a spicy kick to the Korean street food.

Samyang Foods also sees this collaboration as an opportunity to promote its buldak sauce, particularly to young Japanese female customers who tend to enjoy spicy food, according to Mom's Touch.

"We wanted to deliver a fresh and engaging brand experience beyond just burgers and chicken, through unique collaborations that span across industries such as mobile phones, games, as well as food and snacks," a Mom's Touch official said. "We also aim to become a brand that is anticipated as the next collaborator by creating trendy content that resonates with customers of all generations."

Mom's Touch has reportedly been receiving multiple collaboration proposals from various business sectors in Korea, owing to its extensive network of some 1,430 stores nationwide and strong popularity among millennials and Generation Z.

The brand particularly targets "funsumers"—a term that refers to fun-seeking consumers—by employing innovative marketing strategies aimed at its young customer base.

Most recently, Mom’s Touch collaborated with MMORPG action game Lost Ark by Smilegate RPG and released the Mococo Moms Set on July 11, marking their third collaboration. The particular set menu achieved one-third of its target sales on the first day and delivered a 157 percent year-over-year sales increase, the burger chain reported.

Meanwhile, Mom's Touch has been rapidly expanding its global presence, opening its fifth and sixth stores in Mongolia in June, following the launch of its first location last September.

In the same month, the brand also launched its three-floor flagship store, Mom's Touch Lab, in Myeongdong, strategically located to attract foreign visitors traveling to Seoul and familiarize them with the brand.