is a Japanese company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants in East Asia, having opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in September 1972. Taking its name from its parent company,
Lotte Corporation
Lotte Corporation (or Lotte Group) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte began its history on June 28, 1948, by Kore ...
, it currently has franchises in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
[ The origin of the name is a combination of corporate names Lotte and Cafeteria.
Its menu includes typical fast-food items such as burgers, ]french fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
, fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...
, chicken wings and chicken fingers
Chicken fingers (also known as chicken goujons, chicken strips, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets or chicken fillets) are chicken meat prepared from the pectoralis minor muscles of the animal. These strips of white meat are located on either side ...
.
History
The company was founded in February 1972 in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, by Shin Kyuk-ho, a Korean entrepreneur. Its first franchises opened in Nihonbashi
is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...
, Ueno
is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...
and Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
in September of that year. In 1979, the brand was established in Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. Lotteria later spread throughout East Asia adding locations in China, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Businesses by country
Japan
In Japan, Lotteria's most popular menu items are hamburger
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...
s, cheeseburger
A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Cheese ...
s and teriyaki
''Teriyaki'' (kanji: 照り 焼き) is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
Fish – yellowtail, marlin, skipjack tuna, salmon, trout, and ...
burgers. It invented its other popular item, the shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
burger, in 1977, which has since been copied by McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and MOS Burger
, doing business as (which stands for "Mountain Ocean Sun"), is an international fast-food restaurant chain (fast-casual) from Japan. Its headquarters are in the ThinkPark Tower in Ōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo. At one time its headquarters were ...
in Japan.
In addition, the menu in Japan also includes fresh sandwiches along with fresh Jerome as well as desserts like crepes, apple pie
An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is generally ...
, shakes and frozen cake-sticks. The premium cheeseburger is the top selling menu item in Japan.
In 2005, Genichi Tamatsuka, the former president of Fast Retailing Co. (which operates the Uniqlo brand), was appointed as chairman and CEO during a management restructuring in 2005.["Ex-Fast Retailing head named chairman of Lotteria burger chain." Kyodo News International: Tokyo, Japan, 22 January 2006] The appointment was the result of a previous contract undertaken by Revamp Corp, a business revitalization company.
South Korea
Lotteria South Korea was founded in 1979, as part of an expansion of the Lotte Group which also included Lotte Chilsung Beverages, Lotte Food and Lotte Ham. Lotteria became the number-one fast food restaurant chain in South Korea. The company achieved a 45% market share in 2001 (compared to 20.1 percent for McDonald's). Lotteria's success was achieved in part by introducing lines of Koreanized fast food including its now signature kimchi
''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...
burger, leading to it being seen by most Koreans as a native version of most Western-style fast-food restaurants. The company tries to imitate the western idea of fast food through "cleanliness, bright interior, Western pop music as an audio background," with the idea of trying to create "the impression of a 'small piece of America in the middle of Korea'". Their business strategy resulted in growth rates of 10 percent in 2006 and 16 percent in 2007; by 2009, Lotteria had 920 outlets across the country.
In March 2009, Lotteria took full control of the South Korean branch of T.G.I. Friday's. It had previously invested 10 billion won in the chain in 2002. Lotteria also runs Natuur, one of South Korea's major ice cream franchises, itself introduced to South Korea by Lotte in 1998.
On 27 February 2010, the 'Hamburger Cafeteria' Experience Center was opened in Seoul, KidZania. In April 2016, it will open a "Hamburger Cafeteria" experience center in Busan, KidZania, following KidZania Seoul.
The menu in South Korea includes baked potatoes, sữa chua, salads, cheese sticks, squid rings, and a popular shaved iced dessert called pat bing soo (). One of the restaurants most popular burgers is the "Bulgogi
''Bulgogi'' (불고기; ; from Korean language, Korean ''bul-gogi'' ), literally "fire meat", is a ''Gui (food), gui'' (구이; Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marination, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, gri ...
Burger" with bulgogi sauce serving as relish. In South Korea too, a specially priced lunchtime menu is offered focusing on less expensive and often reduced items. The timing of the lunch menu differs from store to store but falls within the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., with prices fluctuating from location to location. There are a few stores which carry weekend lunches but these are relatively rare.
Lotteria is also famous for shrimp burgers. In January 2021, the square shrimp double burger, which was released for a month for limited sales, announced that it would sell it as a regular product due to favorable responses.
China
Lotteria entered the Chinese market in 1994 and mainly centered in Beijing, but it ended operation in 2003 due to a lack of popularity among potential customers. In 2008, Lotteria restarted business in China with new operation strategies that specifically targeting Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, other stores are located in cities like Beijing, Qingdao, Yantai and Shenyang.
Vietnam
The restaurant entered the Vietnamese market in 2004.[ Its menu there includes regular menu burgers and fried chicken but not side items like baked potatoes and pat bing soo. They also have an ice cream-based dessert (like a ]McFlurry
The McFlurry is a brand of flavored ice cream distributed and sold by the American-based international fast food chain McDonald's.
History
The McFlurry was created by Canada, Canadian McDonald's franchisee Ron McLellan in Bathurst, New Bruns ...
) called a Tornado. It comes in five flavors: chocolate, cookie, peanut, sprinkles or green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
.
They also have Shrimp Burgers and some items that include rice, such as drumsticks with rice.
They have a special menu that cannot be found in any other country, which is called "rice and spaghetti".
Indonesia
The chain opened its first Indonesian franchise on 19 October 2011 at Lotte Mart
Lotte Mart is a South Korean hypermarket that sells a variety of groceries, clothing, toys, electronics, and other goods, with headquarters in South Korea. Lotte Mart is a division of the Lotte Co., Ltd. which sells food and shopping services ...
Kelapa Gading
Kelapa Gading or also known as KG, Gading, is a district ( Indonesian: ''kecamatan'') of North Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. Kelapa Gading neighborhood is known to the local population as a city within a city, due to the integrated residentia ...
, North Jakarta. As of 2015, the chain had 32 outlets in Greater Jakarta
The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta– Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regenc ...
, Karawang and Bandung
Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...
. All outlets in Indonesia were permanently closed on 29 June 2020.
Cambodia
The chain opened its first Cambodian franchise in June 2014 at Aeon Mall, followed by a second store in December 2014 at Soria Mall.[
]
Myanmar
The first Lotteria restaurant in Myanmar was opened in Junction Square in Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
in April 2013, with plans to open 24 more by 2016 from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw
Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw (; ), is the capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's cities, as it is an entirely planned city out ...
. Along with the regular fare of chicken and burgers, Lotteria is offering dishes tailored to Myanmar consumers, such as chicken rice.[Fast food invasion looms in Yangon]
Myanmar Times, 1 April 2013
Laos
The restaurant chain currently has a few stores in the Lao capital Vientiane, as well as a store in the town of Luang Prabang.
Other business strategies
In 2003, Lotteria partnered with KT and Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
to provide Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
access in its restaurants, to help attract more customers. This service has also been available in every restaurant in Japan for NTT Docomo and au mobile users since 2006.
Lotteria has followed the global fast-food trend of shifting towards health-conscious foods and rebranding its image. In the face o
health trends
it eliminated trans fat
Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that naturally occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. It became widely produced as an unintentional byproduct in the industrial pro ...
s from its French fries. It also introduced healthier menu items, such as a rye bread burger that totals only 350 calories. From 2008, perhaps as a response to McDonald's strategy to become more upmarket, Lotteria began a campaign to change "the image of our stores to create a mood similar to a cafe, geared toward the health-conscious as well as female customers".
Recycling (South Korea only)
Since 2003, the South Korean government has required a 50-to-100 Won deposit to be levied against all disposable cup
A disposable cup is a type of tableware and disposable food packaging. Disposable cup types include paper cups, plastic cups and foam cups. Expanded polystyrene is used to manufacture foam cups, and polypropylene is used to manufacture plasti ...
s sold in restaurants to ensure that they were returned to be recycled. As such, products (such as drinks and ice cream) to be consumed in-store are served in reusable plastic container
Plastic containers are containers made exclusively or partially of plastic. Plastic containers are ubiquitous either as single-use or reuseable/durable plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic bags, foam food containers, Tupperware, plastic tubes ...
s; or if a customer purchases their product in a disposable cup and pays the deposit, they can have their deposit refunded if they return the empty cup to the counter staff. The recycling law yielded recycling rates for cups of 14 percent in 2003, 22 percent in 2004, and 25 percent in 2005. This law has since been repealed.
The Seoul city government requires mandatory garbage sorting with food, recyclables and general trash to be separated from each other. Specialized receptacles thus exist (for liquids, paper, uneaten food, plastic, and other general waste) at all Lotteria restaurants. In addition, Lotteria also charges a fee of 50-to-100 Won on bags as is the norm for most Western-style stores and other shopping venues in South Korea.
In 2021, Lotteria announced the introduction of drinking lids instead of straws to reduce the use of plastic straws at 100 direct stores.
See also
* List of hamburger restaurants
This is a list of notable hamburger restaurants. A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat (usually beef) usually placed inside a sliced hamburger bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tom ...
References
{{Food chains in South Korea
Lotte Corporation subsidiaries
Fast-food hamburger restaurants
Fast-food chains of Japan
Fast-food chains of South Korea
Restaurants established in 1972
Food and drink companies based in Tokyo
Retail companies based in Tokyo
1972 establishments in Japan