Jinjja Chicken, the Korean fried chicken chain, is not Korean.
This was revealed in an interview with The Straits Times by Bernard Tay, Jinjja's 45-year-old Singaporean owner.
The 10-year-old home-grown brand has eight outlets in Singapore.
It brings in about S$10 million a year and employs 170 staff.
The halal-certified brand also has three franchise outlets in Indonesia, two in Malaysia, and one in Brunei.
Tay told ST:
"It is time to let people know that we are proudly 100 per cent owned by Singaporeans. We are a Singaporean brand and we are also doing well overseas.
I hope people will support Singaporeans who dare to sell cuisines which are not local."
A common, albeit convenient, misconception
Tay admitted that, in the past, he chose not to correct the common misconception that Jinjja Chicken is Korean.
Even his friends and business contacts thought he had bought the franchise.
Tay did so as he felt there was a stigma that "if you are not South Korean, you can't cook Korean fried chicken well".
He was afraid that customers would avoid the brand for not being "authentic", and in fact had experienced customers walk out on the business after finding out it was run by a Singaporean.
A struggle to get the business going
Tay was 36, and had eight years of experience running his family's food business, Molly's Nonya Kuehs, when he set up Jinjja Chicken.
Married with two young daughters, he dropped the family business, took out a loan and pumped his savings into the business' first outlet in Bugis Village in October 2015.
The amount came up to S$350,000.
With no culinary experience, Tay was helping out in the kitchen himself on 14-hours shifts with no breaks.
The business was beset by financial struggles.
In 2016, Tay and his wife sold their three-room flat in Whampoa to pay off mounting debts; he even lost 9kg from stress alone.
Two years later, however, the business broke even. Tay then opened a second outlet in Clementi Mall.
It did well, but he had to close it in June 2024 due to a sharp rental increase.
Jinjja Chicken has since expanded to outlets at Northpoint City, Changi, Nex, Tampines, and other locations.
Aside from its existing franchise outlets in Indonesia and Malaysia, Tan wants to take the brand to Thailand, Vietnam, China and maybe even Australia.
Top photo from Google Maps
