Say hi to budae-jjigae: South Korean fried chicken chain NeNe Chicken’s expansion plans take off

People lined up outside NeNe Chicken, which had a successful opening weekend at its Lorne St, Auckland store.

South Korean fried chicken chain NeNe Chicken is bringing forward its New Zealand expansion plans by two years after a surge of interest since opening last week.

The quick-service restaurant opened its first New Zealand store in Auckland’s CBD on Friday, but was forced to close early on its first two nights of trading as unpredicted demand left it short of ingredients.

“We ended up having to close an hour early on the first two nights of trading as we ran out of chicken, potatoes and even flour,” said NeNe Chicken general manager Marcus Teh.

“We were overwhelmed with how excited Kiwis were to try the food.

“We just did not expect it to take off just as quickly as it did, so have now increased all of our orders to suppliers.”

Teh said NeNe Chicken had met its revenue target for the week within the first three days of opening and estimated more than 600 customers went through its Lorne St store.

Nene Chicken has big expansion plans.

The store sold almost a tonne of chicken within its first three days of operation.

As well as selling Korean fried chicken, NeNe offered burgers, dosirak (a Korean lunchbox filled with various side dishes), budae-jjigae (a stew) and various sides including chips, hash brown nuggets, salads and Korean black rice.

The store was currently advertising a “week two special” of an original or kimchi burger for $8.

Teh previously told the Herald the company intended to invest more than $15 million to open 18 stores nationwide, expecting to employ 275 workers and generate $75m in annual revenue by 2028.

Australian-based ST Group, which holds the exclusive franchise and licence rights to NeNe Chicken in New Zealand, had been planning to open 18 stores throughout the country by 2028.

But that target has now been brought forward to 2026 after a surge in interest from entrepreneurs looking to purchase franchises.

“In addition to those wanting to purchase franchises, the outlet was popular with retail customers, with an average transaction value at $40 - which was surprisingly high,” Teh said.

Founded in South Korea in 1999, NeNe Chicken - which translates to ‘Yes Yes Chicken’ - has more than 1100 stores worldwide, including in the USA, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.