Lotteria (; Japanese: ロッテリア; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Japanese company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants in East Asia, having opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in September 1972. Taking its name from its parent company, Lotte Corporation, it currently has franchises in South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. In 1979, the brand was established in Seoul, South Korea. Lotteria later spread throughout East Asia adding locations in China, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Businesses by country

Japan

thumb|right|Lotteria in [[Osaka Prefecture|Osaka, Japan.]]

In 2005, Genichi Tamatsuka, the former president of Fast Retailing Co. (which operates the Uniqlo brand), was appointed as chairman and CEO during a management restructuring in 2005. The appointment was the result of a previous contract undertaken by Revamp Corp, a business revitalization company.

On February 16, 2023, Lotteria of Japan announced all shares of Lotteria would be sold to major Japanese fast food holding company Zensho on April 1, 2023. In September, Zensho opened a spinoff chain of Lotteria called . On 16 February 2026, Lotteria Co., Ltd. changed its name to . In addition, all existing Lotteria branches will operate until March 2026 before transitioning to Zetteria, bringing an end to Lotteria in Japan's 54-year history.

thumb|A Lotteria lunch in Japan. A sandwich set accompanied by chicken sticks and a crepe.

South Korea

thumb|A Lotteria in [[Changnyeong, South Korea]]

Lotteria South Korea was founded in 1979, as part of an expansion of the Lotte Group which also included Lotte Chilsung Beverages, Lotte Food and Lotte Ham. Lotteria became the number-one fast food restaurant chain in South Korea. The company achieved a 45% market share in 2001 (compared to 20.1 percent for McDonald's).

In March 2009, Lotteria took full control of the South Korean branch of T.G.I. Friday's. Lotteria also runs Natuur, one of South Korea's major ice cream franchises, itself introduced to South Korea by Lotte in 1998.

Lotteria is also famous for shrimp burgers. In January 2021, the square shrimp double burger, which was released for a month for limited sales, announced that it would sell it as a regular product due to favorable responses.

China

thumb|Lotteria and Angel-in-us Coffee at [[Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport, Jilin, China]]

Lotteria entered the Chinese market in 1994 and mainly centered in Beijing, but it ended operation in 2003 due to a lack of popularity among potential customers. In 2008, Lotteria restarted business in China with new operation strategies that specifically targeting Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, other stores are located in cities like Beijing, Qingdao, Yantai and Shenyang.

Vietnam

The restaurant entered the Vietnamese market in 2004.

Indonesia

The chain opened its first Indonesian franchise on 19 October 2011 at Lotte Mart Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. As of 2015, the chain had 32 outlets in Greater Jakarta, Karawang and Bandung. All outlets in Indonesia were permanently closed on 29 June 2020.

Cambodia

The chain opened its first Cambodian franchise in June 2014 at Aeon Mall, followed by a second store in December 2014 at Soria Mall.

Singapore

Lotteria enters Singapore on February 11, 2026 with the first outlet at Jewel Changi Airport.

United States

In 2023, The chain has interest to expand outside of Asia by opening a location in the United States. Lotteria had its introduction at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago the following year. On August 14, 2025, Lotteria opened first U.S. Store in Fullerton, California with a preview opening from August 11 to August 13 of the same year.

Malaysia

Lotteria entered the Malaysian market in late 2025, opening its first store at The Curve in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The outlet commenced operations on 1 December 2025, with its official launch scheduled for 6 December 2025. The company had previously expressed interest in expanding to the country in 2023.

Mongolia

The first Lotteria restaurant in Mongolia was opened in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar on 23 June 2018. As of 2025, there are 6 open outlets in Ulaanbaatar.

Other business strategies

In 2003, Lotteria partnered with KT and Intel to provide Wi-Fi access in its restaurants, to help attract more customers. This service has also been available in every restaurant in Japan for NTT Docomo and au mobile users since 2006.

Lotteria has followed the global fast-food trend of shifting towards health-conscious foods and rebranding its image. In the face of health trends, it eliminated trans fats from its French fries. It also introduced healthier menu items, such as a rye bread burger that totals only 350 calories. From 2008, perhaps as a response to McDonald's strategy to become more upmarket, Lotteria began a campaign to change "the image of our stores to create a mood similar to a cafe, geared toward the health-conscious as well as female customers".

Recycling in South Korea

thumb|In South Korea, waste is separated by category.

Since 2003, the South Korean government has required a 50-to-100 Won deposit to be levied against all disposable cups sold in restaurants to ensure that they were returned to be recycled. As such, products (such as drinks and ice cream) to be consumed in-store are served in reusable plastic containers; or if a customer purchases their product in a disposable cup and pays the deposit, they can have their deposit refunded if they return the empty cup to the counter staff. The recycling law yielded recycling rates for cups of 14 percent in 2003, 22 percent in 2004, and 25 percent in 2005.

See also

  • List of hamburger restaurants

References

  • (Korea)
  • (Japan)