[Edaily Reporter Kim Ji-woo ] #The BORN Korea is ramping up its North American operations by expanding its restaurant brand presence in Canada and beginning local production of its signature sauces in the U.S. This move brings to life the global business vision CEO Baek Jong-won unveiled last September alongside the launch of TBK sauce.

The BORN Korea announced on the 18th that CEO Baek Jong-won, currently on a business trip to North America, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sunray Group, a Canadian hotel and real estate company, to collaborate on the foodservice business, and discussed plans to expand sales of TBK sauce with local food distribution companies.

Sunray Group operates approximately 80 hotels in Canada under global brands such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. The two companies are pursuing a plan to convert stores currently operated by Sunray Group in the Markham area of the Greater Toronto Area into The BORN Korea restaurant brands. They are currently discussing which brands to apply and specific store operation methods.

In the future, they will also explore introducing The BORN Korea brands into hotels and commercial facilities owned by Sunray Group. The plan is to move beyond the model of opening individual franchise locations one by one and instead establish an expansion model that leverages local companies’ facilities and business networks to simultaneously expand multiple stores and brands.

In the food business, the company has also begun securing local distribution networks. CEO Baek met with executives from two major Canadian food distribution companies to discuss ways to expand sales of The BORN Korea products, including TBK sauces.

With a Korean-owned food distributor, discussions focused on organizing promotional events to showcase The BORN Korea products in local supermarkets, operating pop-up stores in food courts, and developing menus featuring TBK sauces at company-owned restaurants. The company is also exploring ways to expand B2B sales of TBK sauces by leveraging the distributor’s restaurant distribution network.

With another major food distributor, the company discussed plans to sell TBK sauces to local consumers through the distributor’s network. The plan is to expand the product lineup in the future based on sales performance and consumer response. The company aims to broaden consumer access to TBK sauces in the Canadian market by expanding its distribution scope to include not only B2B sauces used in restaurants but also products available for direct purchase by general consumers.

In the U.S., the company is moving toward localizing production. The BORN Korea plans to collaborate with a global integrated food company to produce B2B sauces used by Hong Kong Banjeon in the U.S. The first product to be produced will be sweet and sour pork sauce. Subsequently, the company plans to expand the range of locally produced items to include sauces used in key menu items across The BORN Korea’s restaurant brands.

The BORN Korea intends to utilize the partner company’s U.S. production facilities as a supply hub for its North American operations. The strategy is to move away from the traditional model of producing products domestically for export and instead establish a local production system to reduce logistics costs and lead times, thereby supporting the expansion of stores and distribution operations in the U.S. and Canada.

The company is also pursuing joint development of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) products targeted at North American consumers. The plan is to develop products tailored to local consumption habits and tastes and, through the production and distribution networks of partner companies, target not only the foodservice sector but also the general consumer market.

A representative from The BORN Korea stated, “Business opportunities that CEO Baek Jong-won personally identified overseas are now leading to concrete collaborations with local companies,” adding, “We will continue to expand our global business achievements, ranging from the opening of restaurant brands to product manufacturing and distribution.”