WaBa Grill, one of the nation’s leading healthy rice bowl chains, announces Q1 2021 as the top performing sales quarter in the brand’s 15-year history, with SSS up 21.3 percent over Q1 2020. This news comes hot on the heels of the brand announcing 2020 as its best sales year ever. Additionally, WaBa Grill set an all-time brand record for weekly per store sale averages during the last week of the quarter. This strong sales growth was achieved despite dining rooms being closed throughout most of the quarter, a testament to the strength of the WaBa Grill’s carryout and delivery business.
“After achieving such strong momentum in 2020, our Q1 record-breaking sales are a direct result of our dedicated franchisees who continue to take excellent care of their guests and the communities they serve,” says Andrew Kim, President & CEO of WaBa Grill. “It’s clear that the demand for healthy fast casual is on the rise, and I’m confident we will continue to achieve significant milestones throughout our 15th anniversary year and beyond.”
A variety of factors contributed to the brand’s success including strong digital sales and the continuation of free delivery on any orders placed via the WaBa Rewards App through the end of January 2021, a systemwide promotion that began in March 2020. WaBa Grill also introduced attractive value-added promotions along with a new, and well received, wild-caught salmon recipe just in time for Lent. On the corporate level, the brand made four major executive promotions including the appointment of Andrew Kim to president and CEO. Additionally, Entrepreneur magazine named WaBa Grill one of the “Top 5” franchises in the Asian food category and one of the “Hottest Franchise Opportunities” of 2021.
“We have many exciting developments lined up for the rest of 2021 including new menu introductions and continuing to expand the brand throughout California and into new states with the support of both new and existing WaBa Grill franchise partners,” says Mark Finnegan, Chief Marketing & Information Officer at WaBa Grill. “It really has been amazing to see the growth in sales and success that our franchisees have experienced over the past few years, we have so much to celebrate at Waba Grill!”
