World Cup Kicks Off in One Day... Reviving the "Chicken and Beer" Boom from the Morning

2022 World Cup Sales Soared by 290%

Focus Shifts to Ongoing Promotions Like Social Media Events and Coupon Packs

FIFA Official Sponsor Cass Opens "Viewing Pubs" for Fans

Terra Launches 'SON7 Edition' and LocknLock Cooling Cup

Yonhap News

With the '2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup' set to begin on June 12, the chicken and beer industry is abuzz with activity. As the matches are scheduled for the morning hours, it is difficult to expect a "World Cup boom" as in the past. However, companies are targeting consumers with aggressive marketing, as consumer sentiment could recover depending on match results and the event remains the largest sports festival.

According to the retail industry on June 11, chicken franchise BHC is considering opening its directly managed stores earlier than usual. Their strategy is to open from 10 a.m. on days when the Korean national team plays, so customers can enjoy chicken as a meal. In addition, starting this month, BHC is running a "Welcome & Welcome Back Coupon Pack" event for new app customers and long-term inactive customers. New members using the BHC app for the first time and customers with no purchase history for over three months who agree to four types of marketing communications will receive a coupon pack worth 10,000 won.

Kyochon is launching a social media support event and introducing a "Flavor Combination Support Series" in collaboration with partner brands. Kyochon is preparing customer participation events such as predicting the score of Korea's first match or sharing the most anticipated moment of the Mexico match (on the 19th) in the comments section.

BBQ plans to strengthen its discount events during the World Cup, including the ongoing "Black Pride Day" and limited-time "AI Hwangol Set" and "AI First Pitch Set," which will be available for two weeks. The AI Hwangol and First Pitch Sets are limited menus featuring items enjoyed by Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Korean partners at BBQ stores and baseball stadiums. Currently, BBQ offers a 4,000-won discount every Friday on its signature Golden Olive Chicken and Hot Crispy Chicken.

The World Cup has traditionally been a peak season for the chicken industry. Watching evening matches while enjoying chicken and beer as a late-night snack created an atmosphere where sales soared two to three times higher than usual. In fact, during Korea's first group match at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Kyochon Chicken's sales rose about 140% compared to the previous month, BBQ about 170%, and BHC about 200%. In the second match, Kyochon saw sales increase by about 160%, while BHC's sales jumped by about 297%. The 2022 World Cup matches were held between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Korean time.

However, as the matches for this World Cup are scheduled between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., it will be difficult to create the usual "chicken and beer" viewing atmosphere. All three group stage matches—against the Czech Republic (June 12 at 11 a.m.), Mexico (June 19 at 10 a.m.), and South Africa (June 25 at 10 a.m.)—will take place on weekday mornings. An industry official said, "Because of the time difference, the matches are held in the morning, making it very difficult to generate demand for chicken and beer. The main consumption time for chicken is after work or late at night, which is holding back demand."

As a result, unlike previous years when the top three chicken companies ran large-scale promotions, they are now significantly scaling back their marketing or replacing them with regular promotions. The decision stems from the judgment that even if they invest heavily in marketing, there is no guarantee of increased sales. Instead of major publicity campaigns, companies are focusing on offering customized benefits to app users or presenting strategies for convenient meals while watching matches during lunchtime hours.

Another industry official said, "Chicken franchise sales are expected to remain similar to normal or fluctuate only slightly, rather than experiencing an explosive boom. We plan to secure demand by offering promotions and discounts so that customers watching at home can enjoy chicken while cheering for the team."

The alcoholic beverage industry, however, is taking a different approach. Despite the spread of a no-alcohol culture among people in their 20s and 30s, there is hope that beer consumption will temporarily increase due to the World Cup. OB Beer’s "Cass," the official beer sponsor of the World Cup, is running a pop-up store until June 25 and operating five pubs and restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan area as "Cass Viewing Pubs" to serve as cheering spaces. Cass has also released a limited-edition "One Team Edition" for the World Cup since last month and is holding a variety of events.

Although HiteJinro is not an official World Cup beer sponsor, it is launching "football marketing" by featuring Son Heungmin, the captain of Korea’s national soccer team, as its advertising model this year. The company has introduced the "Terra X SON7 Edition" and is collaborating with LocknLock to launch a cooling cup for chilled Terra, as part of its marketing efforts linked to football.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.