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By Yoon Ja-young
With chicken franchises hiking prices steeply recently, consumers are expressing their frustration that the popular food is now far too expensive for many.
BHC Chicken, the second-biggest player in the chicken franchise industry, announced that it will raise the prices of some items by 1,000 won or 2,000 won. Consumers now have to pay 20,000 won ($17) for some of its popular menu items, as it raised prices by an average 7.8 percent.
The decision follows an 8.1 percent average price hike by top player Kyochon Chicken last month. As the prices of its popular menu choices, such as Red Combo chicken and Honey Combo chicken, had reached 20,000 won, consumers complained that it was too expensive, especially given the extra costs for delivery services, which they had not had to pay only a few years ago.
"As they are also raising delivery fees, I come to hesitate before ordering chicken for my two kids. Half of the time, I substitute it with using an air fryer on frozen chicken from the supermarket," wrote an internet user.
BBQ, the third-place chicken franchise player, hasn't raised its prices yet, but consumers believe it is only a matter of time.
The chicken franchises claim price hikes are inevitable. BHC cited increased labor costs, as well as price hikes for chicken and other ingredients, such as oil and flour, as the reasons why its franchisees demanded that the headquarters raise prices. This year's heat wave and avian influenza outbreak pulled up the retail price of chicken to 5,991 won per kilogram in August, which is its highest price since 2019.
Chicken franchises also cite the burden of rising delivery fees ― a complaint they share with consumers. Large delivery platforms have been aggressively raising delivery fees for quicker services, to increase their stake in the winner-take-all platform market.
Despite consumer complaints, 20,000 won for chicken is likely to become the new normal. "When Kyochon started levying delivery fees, consumers said they would boycott Kyochon. But now that has eventually become the norm," an internet user pointed out.
Chicken franchises logged record-high sales last year, as demand for food delivery grew explosively amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kyochon F&B saw its total sales grow 18 percent to 447.6 billion won last year from the previous year, and its operating profit recorded 41 billion won. Its operating profit has also seen double-digit growth for three consecutive quarters this year.
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