Some international brands are really successful in Vietnam, and some are a total FLOP! And that is the case for this! We all know Burger King. It quickly gained reputation and became a worldwide-known fast food brand with 12.500 stores across the world, and the second largest fast-food franchise in the world. And that was supposed to be the case in Vietnam too! But it is not! So, in today’s video, we are going to talk about the rise and failure to succeed of Burger King in Vietnam, from the day it first opens in Vietnam to their inability to thrive in Vietnam, along with my personal insights about Burger King.

The history of Burger King in Vietnam

The franchise was bought by a well-known Vietnamese American back in 2012. He initially invested $40 million in 2012 and his plan was to open 60 locations throughout Vietnam. But, it did not go as planned. He was perhaps too optimistic or did not plan his venture well enough, as Burger King Vietnam only had managed to open 13 locations at their peak best back in 2016. Though, the first location opened in Ho Chi Minh City and it was quite of a promising start.

But, you see, if you look at the timeline, we can notice something is off. Indeed, Burger King made a belated entry into the Vietnamese fast-food market back in 2012. And as you can imagine, this entry initiation significantly impacted its competitiveness within the industry. First, according to market analysis, Burger King has only 37% brand recognition in Vietnam. If you ask many people on the street, you realize Burger King is not well-known in Vietnam or if it is, not many are regular customers.

If you compare that to some of the big players in the fast-food sector in Vietnam, such as KFC with 84% brand recognition rate, and Lotteria, a Korean fast food chain registering at 62% brand recognition, that is not enough people who know your brand. The fact that Burger King came to Vietnam a bit late and didn’t open many restaurants here makes it hard for them to compete with the big and well-known fast-food brands that have been around for a while. As not many people know about Burger King, and there aren’t many Burger King restaurants, it’s a tough job for them to get Vietnamese folks to notice them and become loyal customers. This shows how important it is to enter a market at the right time and have lots of places for people to enjoy your food, especially in the super competitive world of fast food.

Check out this latest video where Attorney Ken Duong dissects Burger King and explains why they flopped in Vietnam!