Kyochon Faces Backlash Over Complex Discount Scheme, Accused of Misleading Marketing

Kyochon F&B, a leading South Korean fried chicken franchise, is under fire for a new discount event that customers criticize as deceptive, highlighting an emerging trust issue in the brand's marketing campaigns.

As per The Korea Times, the operator of the Kyochon Fried Chicken franchise made the decision to roll out another discount event for the customers. This time, the offer is up to a KRW4,000 price cut, and based on the promotion mechanics, customers will get a discount if they buy any menu within the first nine days of June, July, and August.

However, it was also stated in the terms that to avail of the discount, customers must also spend at least KRW25,000 to purchase Kyochon's boneless fried chicken variants. This means that the price cut is not easy to get since customers must buy the restaurant's Signature Boneless Set first, which is priced at KRW33,000.

They will only qualify for the discount offer if they buy this set or at least two boneless fried chicken variants from Kyochon's menu. Moreover, the discount will only apply to people who made at least two orders in the previous month after joining the Kyochon loyalty membership through its own mobile app.

It is these requirements that have pushed customers to slam Kyochon again. This is the second time this happened because last month, the restaurant chain earned the ire of the people after offering a KRW3,000 discount but posted a price increase on its menu, so the price cut has no effect. As a result, the company was accused of a misleading marketing campaign.

Meanwhile, despite the criticisms in Korea, it was reported by Lifestyle Asia in May that KyoChon has earned Halal Certification in Malaysia. With this, it has now become the first Halal-certified Korean fried chicken chain in the country.

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