American barbecue is catching on in Korea. A growing number of restaurants specialize in American barbecue and are making barbecue dishes available to consumers through home delivery and meal kits.
Building on the previous success of week-long American barbecue promotions in Korea, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) implemented American BBQ Week this summer in the Korean cities of Seoul, Inchon and Busan. Nineteen outlets from 12 American barbecue restaurants participated in three, week-long promotions that featured barbecue dishes made with U.S. beef and pork. Five of the restaurants also operate online shops for home delivery.
The U.S. cuts utilized by the restaurants during the promotions included short ribs, chuck short ribs, brisket, Boston butt, CT butt, spareribs, loin ribs and pork belly.
“The price of eating out in Korea has increased considerably in the past five years so we are working to celebrate American barbecue as a popular dining trend,” said USMEF Korea Director Junil Park. “We are also positioning American barbecue meals with consumers as an affordable everyday dish that can also be tailored for special occasions.”
Participating restaurants reported dramatic sales growth during the promotions, with an average increase of 101%. Restaurants also saw a surge of new customers during the promotion. One restaurant even timed the opening of its online sales portal with their promotional launch.
USMEF provided participating restaurants with a variety of promotional materials for use in stores and in their online sales platforms. USMEF also implemented public relations and social media campaigns to position American barbecue as an increasingly popular casual dining trend, partnering with digital media sources and several popular food-specialist influencers.
USMEF’s Korea office also promoted American BBQ Week to followers through its social media channel and shared promotion and restaurant details through YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms, reaching 1.9 million views.
Funding support was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program, Texas Beef Council and the United Soybean Board. — USMEF
