Chipotle is coming to Asia.
The Mexican giant announced Wednesday that it signed a joint venture agreement with SPC Group—a South Korea-based food company—to open its first restaurants in South Korea and Singapore.
“With a rapidly evolving dining-out business, fueled by preferences for variety and convenience, expanding into Asia presents an incredible growth opportunity for Chipotle,” CEO Scott Boatwright said in a statement. “Real food prepared fast is in high demand in these markets and with notable brand awareness among consumers, we see potential for strong adoption out of the gate.”
Chipotle noted that Korean consumers have expressed a passion for the brand, particularly well-known K-Pop artists. Four years ago, Jungkook, a member of K-Pop band BTS, mispronounced the chain as “Chicolte” and said he wanted to “eat [it] every day.” Chipotle leveraged the attention by temporarily changing its name on X (formerly Twitter) to “Chicolte” in honor of the viral moment. It also partnered with a major fan account to give away thousands of free entrées. The company also received a shoutout from South Korean girl group Le Sserafim, who said they “couldn’t live without Chipotle,” even though it wasn’t in South Korea yet.
SPC Group was founded over 80 years ago. It owns 30 brands and operates 7,000 stores globally. It’s responsible for introducing Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin’, Jamba, and Shake Shack to the Korean market.
Heesoo Hur, EVP and owner of SPC Group, said Koreans and Singaporeans’ familiarity with Chipotle made the countries ideal entry points in Asia.
“In addition, we have a proven track record of developing global brands and we see an opportunity for leveraging our market expertise to introduce Chipotle’s delicious, responsibly sourced food to guests across the continent who aren’t yet familiar with the concept’s real ingredients prepared fresh daily,” Hur said in a statement.
The deal comes more than two years after Chipotle signed its first development agreement with Alshaya Group to open restaurants in the Middle East. The operator has since opened three stores in Kuwait and three in the United Arab Emirates. The fast casual followed that up with another transaction to open in Mexico for the first time. Alsea, an operator based in Latin America and Europe, will open the first Mexican-based Chipotle in 2026 and start exploring additional markets in the region.
Chipotle has more than 3,800 restaurants systemwide and plans to open between 315 and 345 stores this year, most of which will be Chipotlanes. Its long-term goal is to reach 7,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Internationally, there are 60 company-operated stores in Canada, 20 in the U.K., six in France, and two in Germany.
Chipotle’s same-store sales dropped 4 percent in Q2 due to a 4.9 percent decline in transactions, partially offset by a 0.9 percent rise in average check. AUV lowered to $3.14 million in Q2, after reaching $3.18 million in Q1 and $3.21 million in Q4.
