No Brand Burger's 'Hook' and 'Punch' sell 100,000 units in first week

Shinsegae Food said Thursday that the NBB Hook and NBB Punch — the third-generation menu items at its No Brand Burger chain — surpassed 100,000 cumulative sales within a week of their launch.

The two products, which went on sale Oct. 15, averaged about 15,000 units sold per day. The NBB Hook accounted for 13 percent of total burger sales and the NBB Punch for 12 percent, pushing both items to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots and unseating the long-running top seller, the Grilled Bulgogi burger.

Sales on Wednesday, the seventh day after launch, were up 22 percent from the first day, a gain the company attributed to the spread of reviews and recommendation content on social media.

"The NBB Hook and Punch have overtaken the Grilled Bulgogi, which had consistently held the top sales position," Shinsegae Food said, adding that the results showed No Brand Burger — a chain built on value pricing — was expanding its competitiveness beyond price to taste.

Development of the new items drew on a survey of 500 customers conducted in the first half of this year. The company initially considered a unit price of 5,200 won ($3.80) but lowered it to 4,900 won to ease the burden on customers, a move made possible by in-house sauce production at its own factory and competitive sourcing of raw ingredients.

Through Sunday, No Brand Burger is running a "Why Pay More Day" promotion that offers a free item of the same menu and a drink with each purchase. Customers who buy the new menu items through the app through Wednesday will also receive complimentary fries and a drink.