Japanese food invasion slated for 2014

Japanese food invasion slated for 2014

Four restaurant operators will introduce new Japanese food brands next year on the back of the cuisine's strong local popularity.

The first Jousen Yakiniku & Bar will open at Mercury Ville shopping mall on Chidlom Road.

The four are Miyabi Grill Co, Central Restaurant Group (CRG), Kacha Brothers Co and Fuji Restaurant Group.

Miyabi Grill is in talks with Japanese business partners about opening sushi and ramen shops.

CRG and Kacha Brothers, the latter the operator of Sfree healthy ice-cream shops, will each add one Japanese food brand next year.

And Fuji Group will open Jojoen Yakiniku Restaurants in Bangkok soon.

Techit Romraruek, the managing director of Miyabi Group, said he is optimistic about Japanese food here, it is considered a healthy food.

"Our sales in the first nine months of this year grew by 250% year-on-year to 400 million baht despite intense competition in the grilled food segment," he said.

The company is spending 50 million baht this year to introduce two new yakiniku-style food brands.

The first is Jousen Yakiniku & Bar, described as an authentic Japanese yakiniku hang-out for youths at Mercury Ville shopping mall on Chidlom Road and The Walk Kaset-Nawamin.

The second is Wabi Sabi, a premium yakiniku eatery that will open in Groove @ CentralWorld.

Miyabi Group expects sales of 500 million baht this year, increasing to 3 billion annually by 2017 after adding five new Japanese food brands.

The company now operates 38 Japanese restaurants under various brands including Miyabi Grill, Miyabi Kaiten, Josen Yakiniku and Wabi Sabi. It intends to open another 30 under nine brands in the near future.

It expects to have 120 branches under all Japanese food brands in five years.

The group will start franchising the Miyabi Grill and Miyabi Kaiten brands to interested investors next year, with 10 million baht required for initial investment.

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