The Minor Food Group Plc plans to expand its network to more than 4,500 food and beverage outlets by 2029, leaning on franchise partnerships to drive cross-border growth. The conglomerate currently runs more than 3,000 stores across 27 countries, meaning the plan requires adding roughly 1,500 locations over the next five years.
About two-thirds of the group’s current footprint remains concentrated in Thailand. Roughly half of the existing 3,000 outlets run under franchise agreements, and Chief Development Officer Thunyachate Ekvetchavit said the majority of future openings will use the franchise model rather than direct company ownership.
Targeting High-Density Offshore Hubs
Management is directing international development toward Indonesia, Vietnam, South Asia and the Middle East. These markets offer favourable consumer demographics and rising discretionary spending on casual dining, giving established multi-brand operators room to scale without committing massive capital expenditure to real estate leases.
By shifting the capital expenditure burden to local franchisees, Minor Food lowers its exposure to commercial property cycles across volatile emerging markets. The model mirrors the playbook long deployed by global fast-food giants, yet it shifts the primary execution risk directly onto franchisee balance sheets and local supply chain logistics.
Building Domestic Traffic and Retail Partnerships
On its home turf, Minor Food is deepening ties with commercial landlords and fuel retailers to secure steady customer footfall. Recent arrangements pair the company with CP Axtra Plc, which operates wholesale brand Makro and hypermarket chain Lotus’s, alongside PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc to place restaurant brands into petrol stations and roadside convenience hubs.
These tie-ups give the operator captive traffic in non-traditional retail real estate while domestic mall footfall fragments across Bangkok. Securing perimeter retail locations inside high-traffic grocery nodes and highway forecourts shields store margins against rising inner-city commercial rents.
Scaling Bonchon and Launching Chicho Ramen
Cross-border scale gained momentum following the acquisition of Bonchon International, which gave the group full control of the Korean fried chicken franchise. Minor Food plans to expand Bonchon into Europe, the Middle East and wider Asian territories, using the established global recognition of the brand to enter territories where its legacy Western fast-food franchises face saturated competition.
Back in Bangkok, the group is launching a new proprietary concept named Chicho Ramen on 30 October at Lotus’s Sukhumvit 50. Minor Food plans to scale Chicho Ramen to between 90 and 100 stores within three years, seeking to contest a local ramen sector dominated by a single major chain alongside fragmented independent shops.
Managing Commodity Pressures
Cost pressures remain contained across the restaurant system despite ongoing geopolitical frictions affecting global shipping routes. Raw material expenses across the supply chain rose about 3 per cent, while logistics costs increased only marginally, cushioned by hedging programs and bulk-purchasing contracts across regional vendors.
The immediate operational test arrives with the debut of Chicho Ramen on 30 October, which will show whether Minor Food can build another domestic mass-market chain from scratch while hunting master franchisees across the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
