Ichiban Burger

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Ichiban Burger
Private
IndustryRestaurants
GenreFast food
Founded9 July 1958
FounderSatoru Nakayama
HeadquartersSouthside, Southside Yon, Gandoor
Number of locations
2,973 (2028)
Area served
Gandoor
Key people
Junichiro Nakayama (CEO)
Products
  • Hamburgers
  • Chicken sandwiches
  • Hot dogs
  • French fries
  • Soft drinks
  • Milkshakes
  • Coffee
  • Salads
  • Desserts
  • Breakfast

Ichiban Burger is a Gandoorese fast food chain established in 1958 that specializes in hamburgers. In addition to hamburgers, their product range also includes chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, breakfast foods, salads, and desserts.

They are the largest fast food chain in Gandoor with nearly 3000 locations nationwide as of 2028.

Ichiban Burger restaurants located in the predominantly Russian-speaking Freena Yon were formerly branded Лучший Бургер (Luchshiy Burger, Best Burger) until 1987, when they were rebranded to Ичибан Бургер (Ichiban Burger).

Interior of an Ichiban Burger in Gandoor City

History

The first Ichiban Burger restaurant was opened in Southside, Southside Yon in 1958 by Satoru Nakayama. As Gandoor was in the midst of the post-war economic crisis at the time, Nakayama was firm in his goal that his restaurant should give customers the most delicious and high-quality hamburgers possible at the cheapest price. The restaurant proved to be a success and, after directly opening three additional locations in 1959, Nakayama began to franchise Ichiban Burger in 1960. Wanting all customers to have the same experience at any Ichiban Burger, all franchisees were required to maintain the same high standards in regards to cleanliness, customer service, and food quality.

Starting in the early 1970s, when the post-war economic crisis ended and the fast food market began to experience rapid growth, Ichiban Burger started facing competition from both newly established Gandoorese fast food restaurants and American-owned ones which were beginning to enter the market. In the mid-1980s, Ichiban Burger lost the title of 'largest fast food chain in Gandoor' to McDonald's, which had entered the Gandoorese market in 1979 and experienced rapid growth, having over 1300 locations by 1986. (Ichiban Burger had only a little over 500 locations by the mid-1980s)

Ichiban Burger would introduce its first non-hamburger sandwich in 1984, the Ichiban Chicken Sandwich. The Ichiban Chicken Sandwich would remain on the menu until 1990, but was reinstated in 2001 and has remained a permanent menu item since.

A line of breakfast products was introduced to test markets in 1986, a market that Ichiban Burger had previously not catered to. Despite spending over 750,000 GDY (in 1986 gdyns, equivalent to 2.26 million GDY in 2028) on advertising and promotional materials for the breakfast menu in test markets, said menu was not popular with consumers and was discontinued by 1987, never seeing a widespread release

In 1988, in an attempt to cater to a more health-conscious market, the first line of salad bars were introduced at Ichiban Burger locations. While the salad bars were met with moderate success with consumers, franchise owners complained of high operating costs and a low return on investments. A test line of prepackaged salads, originally consisting of a garden salad and a Caesar salad, was introduced in 1990. Prepackaged salads would prove to be more successful with consumers and the company would discontinue the salad bar in 1994. A second salad bar, known as the Salad Station, was later introduced in 2006 but was discontinued on a national level in 2010 due to low popularity, although a number of franchised locations continued to offer the Salad Station following its discontinuation.

During the 1990s, as McDonald's and other foreign-owned fast food chains began to lose popularity and close down locations in Gandoor, Ichiban Burger experienced rapid growth and became the largest fast food chain in Gandoor once more in 1992. Many of the new Ichiban Burger locations opened during this decade were former McDonald's locations. The 1000th Ichiban Burger was opened in Osaka, Osaka Yon in 1995. That same year, Satoru Nakayama officially retired from his role as CEO of Ichiban Burger at the age of 70, although he would continue as the spokesperson for the chain until his death in 2005 at the age of 80. Nakayama was replaced as CEO by his son, Junichiro Nakayama, who remains CEO to this day.

In spite of the previous failure at introducing a breakfast menu in the mid-1980s, Ichiban Burger would reintroduce a breakfast menu starting in 2001. Just like the previous attempt in 1986, Ichiban Burger's second breakfast menu began by being offered at test market locations before being gradually rolled out to all Ichiban Burger locations. This attempt at a breakfast menu was successful and all Ichiban Burgers were offering breakfast by the start of 2002.

Between 2006 and 2008, the Ichiban Burger closed over 300 restaurants due to over three years of falling profits. Despite these closings, however, the company remained the largest fast food chain in Gandoor. An additional 150 locations were closed by 2011.

In February 2015, Ichiban Burger unveiled its new redesigned restaurant concept, referred to as 'New Ichiban Burger', which featured self-order kiosks, a fresh new look emphasizing Ichiban Burger as a place to hang out with friends, and USB charging ports at all tables. The New Ichiban Burger concept was well received by both customers and critics, with all locations having been updated to the new standards by the end of 2016.

Also in 2016, Ichiban Burger announced Ichiban Delivery, a new feature on the Ichiban Burger app for smart devices, enabling customers to get their food delivered to them. To celebrate the launch of Ichiban Delivery, all registered users of the app were granted one free delivery a week until the end of the year.

In 2023, the 2000th Ichiban Burger restaurant was opened in Southside, only eight kilometres from the location of the first Ichiban Burger location, which has since been partially converted into a museum.

Products

When the first Ichiban Burger opened in 1958, its menu consisted of only six items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and vanilla ice cream cones. Since then, numerous products have been added to the Ichiban Burger menu, some of which lasted for only a limited time before being discontinued and others have become a permanent part of the menu.

Current Products

Burgers

Ichiban Burger
An Ichiban Burger Mini served alongside an order of crinkle-cut French fries.

The Ichiban Burger is the signature hamburger sold by Ichiban Burger. It was introduced in 1965 and consists of two patties, two slices of cheddar cheese, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato, and Signature Sauce (comprised of a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, dill pickle relish, vinegar, and garlic powder). At the time of its introduction, it was the most expensive item on the menu and cost 43 cendyns (equivalent to 3.96 GDY in 2023).

In 2023, the first variants on the Ichiban Burger were introduced: the Ichiban Burger Mini and the Ichiban Burger Mega. The Ichiban Burger Mini contains only one patty and one slice of cheddar cheese and the Ichiban Burger Mega contains four patties and four slices of cheddar cheese. All other ingredients remain the same as with the standard Ichiban Burger.

Hamburger

The standard hamburger is one of the original Ichiban Burger products from 1958. It consists of a 50 gram patty topped with ketchup, mustard, and dill pickles.

Cheeseburger

The cheeseburger is a simple variant of the hamburger that has also been part of Ichiban Burger's menu since 1958. It is the same as the hamburger except with the addition of a single slice of cheese.

There are two variations of the cheeseburger available on the Ichiban Burger menu: the bacon cheeseburger and the double cheeseburger. The bacon cheeseburger adds three slices of bacon and the double cheeseburger adds an additional patty and additional slice of cheese.

Ichiban Miniburgers

Introduced in 2023 as part of an expansion to the Val-U-Menu, Ichiban Miniburgers are slider hamburgers five centimetres across that are sold in three packs.

Poultry and Fish

Ichiban Chicken Sandwich

Introduced in 1984, the Ichiban Chicken Sandwich was the first non-hamburger sandwich sold at Ichiban Burger. It was removed from the menu in 1990 but reinstated in 2001.

Ichiban Chicken Nuggets

Ichiban Chicken Nuggets were added to the menu in 1986 in response to the popularity of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets and the 1985 introduction of Burger King's chicken nuggets. They are made with 100% white-meat chicken and are currently available in four, six, eight, and twelve-piece portions. A 'shareable' twenty-piece portion was available from 1994 until 2007.

Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders were first introduced as a promotional item in 2003 and were removed from the menu in early 2004. In 2010, chicken tenders were reintroduced as a new side option alongside French fries and, in 2015, they were moved to the standard menu. Just like all chicken products sold at Ichiban Burger, they are made with 100% white-meat chicken and are available in four, six, and eight-piece portions.

Ichiban Chicken Deluxe

The Ichiban Chicken Deluxe is a premium chicken sandwich introduced in 2020. It contains a standard Ichiban Chicken Sandwich patty, lettuce, Swiss cheese, and 'Chicken Sauce', a sauce that is made of a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, onion powder, and garlic powder.

A variation on the Ichiban Chicken Deluxe called the Ichiban Spicy Chicken Deluxe was introduced at the same time as the standard version. It is the same as the regular variant except with a 'Spicy Chicken Sauce' in lieu of the normal Chicken Sauce.

Ichiban Chicken Parm

The Ichiban Chicken Parm is a premium chicken sandwich that was introduced in 2022 in response to the popularity of the Ichiban Chicken Deluxe introduced two years prior. The sandwich features 100% all-white meat chicken topped with marinara sauce and a slice of Parmesan cheese.

Fish Sandwich

Introduced in 2014, the aptly-named Fish Sandwich is the latest in a line of fish sandwiches that Ichiban Burger has offered periodically since 1989.

The Fish Sandwich, which is offered as part of the Val-U-Menu, consists of a battered and fried fish fillet made from Alaska pollock topped with tartar sauce and pickles.

Fish Dog

The fish dog is a popular Gandoorese variant on the hot dog that was added to the Ichiban Burger menu in 2023. It consists of a piece of fried hot dog-shaped Alaska pollock served on a hot dog bun with tartar sauce.

Salads

Ichiban Salad

Originally introduced in 1990 as simply the 'garden salad', the salad would later be rebranded as the Ichiban Garden Salad in 1998 and later simply the Ichiban Salad in 2010. The Ichiban Salad contains green leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrot, onions, and broccoli.

Ichiban Caesar Salad

Originally introduced in 1990 as simply the 'Caesar salad', the salad would be rebranded as the Ichiban Caesar Salad in 1998. The Ichiban Caesar Salad contains romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese, and two packets of Caesar dressing.

Advertising and Marketing

In 2024, Ichiban Burger spent 135,000,000 GDY on marketing and advertising.

From 1969 until his death in 2005, company founder and CEO (until 1995) Satoru Nakayama served as the spokesman for Ichiban Burger. Starting with Ichiban Burger's 60th anniversary marketing campaign in 2018, archival recordings and footage of Nakayama have been used in commercials for Ichiban Burger, with each advertisement ending with the voice of Nakayama saying 'At Ichiban Burger, we give our customers the freshest and most delicious burgers. And that's a promise I've made to you.' The recording used in modern commercials was originally recorded by Nakayama in 1970 and used in Ichiban Burger commercials from 1970 until 1976.

Since 1998 (the 40th anniversary of the opening of the first restaurant), Ichiban Burger has annually run a special Anniversary Promotion for a week in July. During that week, customers can get a meal consisting of a hamburger, small French fries, and a small soft drink for 75 cendyns, the same price that the meal would have cost in 1958.