Korea’s bhc Chicken Brand Slammed for Menu Price Hike After Shifting to Cheaper Brazilian Chicken

Bhc Chicken, one of the major fried chicken franchises in South Korea, is facing criticism for raising the prices of its menu items despite changing ingredients to cheaper brands.

A local consumer advocacy group said that the company shifted to Brazilian chicken, the cheaper ingredient option. Still, the menu was made even more expensive rather than lowering or keeping the prices as they were.

According to Yonhap News Agency, bhc Chicken has been using chicken produced locally, but in May of last year, it decided to use Brazilian chicken. The fried chicken restaurant chain said it made the change due to difficulty in the supply.

Price Difference Between Korean and Brazilian Chicken

Based on the report, Brazilian chicken costs much less than those sourced from local farms and companies. The difference in the prices is more than 50%, but despite this, bhc reportedly raised the prices of its 85 menu items in December 2023.

The hike was also applied to the brand's seven fried boneless chicken items, now KRW500 or $0.38 more expensive. Bhc Chicken said it had to add markups on its prices because of higher prices of ingredients, rental fees, and payroll of staff.

Complaints from Consumer Groups

Alphabiz reported that bhc Chicken is not the only brand to shift to Brazilian chicken and noted that the brand's competitors have started to use chicken from Brazil. However, these companies have not touched their menu prices and have remained unchanged since the second half of 2023.

"It is common sense that the burden of ingredient prices is reduced as Brazilian frozen meat is much cheaper than Korean chicken," an official of the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations stated. The groups further noted that bhc Chicken has no reason to raise its menu prices.

Photo by: BHC Group Website