MOS Food Services, Inc. (株式会社モスフードサービス, Kabushiki-kaisha Mosu Fūdo Sābisu), doing business as MOS Burger (モスバーガー, Mosu bāgā) (which stands for "Mountain Ocean Sun"[4]), is a multinational fast-food restaurant chain (fast-casual) from Japan. Its headquarters are in the ThinkPark Tower in Ōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo.[2] At one time its headquarters were located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[5][6]

MOS Food Services, Inc.
Company typePublic KK
TYO: 8153
IndustryFoodservice
FoundedTokyo, Japan (July 21, 1972; 52 years ago (1972-07-21))
FounderAtsushi Sakurada (櫻田 厚, Sakurada Atsushi)
HeadquartersThinkPark Tower
2-1-1 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 141-6029 Japan
Key people
Atsushi Sakurada, (CEO and President)
Products
Revenue$ 663 million (FY 2012)
(¥ 62.371 billion) (FY 2012)
$ 16 million (FY 2012)
(¥ 1.52 billion) (FY 2012)
Number of employees
1,375 (as of March 2016)[1]
Subsidiaries9
Websitewww.mos.co.jp/global/
Footnotes / references
[2][3]

It is the second-largest fast-food franchise in Japan after McDonald's, and owns numerous overseas outlets over East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is also the name of the standard hamburger offered by the restaurant, being its first product when it opened in 1972.

As of February 2014 the publicly traded company runs 1,730 MOS Burger and several AEN, Chef's V and Green Grill stores. One slogan used within its stores is "Japanese Fine Burger and Coffee".[2]

Origins

 
A MOS Burger restaurant in Ichinomiya, Japan, 2023

The company name, styled in all caps: MOS Burger, is a backronym for "Mountain, Ocean, Sun". However, originally the company was a spinoff of Atsushi Sakurada's previous company, Merchandising Organizing System.[7] Later[when?], the company began to use playful English phrases in point-of-purchase marketing materials to explain the name, including "MOSt delicious burger", before it finally settled on the current backronym.

Sakurada worked in Los Angeles at an investment company in the early 1960s, and during that time, he frequented the Los Angeles chili burger chain Original Tommy's.[better source needed][8] Wanting to strike out on his own after returning to Japan he decided to adapt the cook-to-order hamburger concept used by Original Tommy's. He also developed the MOS rice burger as an alternative to the hamburger.

In April 2011, MOS Burger opened its first store at Sunnybank Plaza, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. As at September 2021, the company had five stores in Australia, all of which were in Queensland.[9] MOS Burger announced the closure of all its Australian stores in August 2024.[10]

MOS Burger has recently opened in the Philippines in February 2020.[11]

Products

MOS Rice Burger

The MOS Rice Burger uses a bun made of rice mixed with barley and millet.[12][13] Rice was first used as a bun in 1987,[14] when the restaurant served the Tsukune Rice Burger, filled with ground chicken[15] and daikon, and seasoned with soy sauce.

The MOS Rice Burger has been imitated by the Taiwanese division of McDonald's,[16] where the rice bun was pan-seared, but it remains a MOS-exclusive item in Japan and other markets.

See also

References

  1. ^ Corporate Profile MOS Burger, 2017
  2. ^ a b c "Corporate Profile". Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "Financial Statements". Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "産学連携企画「M O S」デザインのモスカード | モスバーガー公式サイト". Mos.co.jp. Retrieved December 27, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Company Outline". April 17, 2001. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "Map in Japanese". Archived from the original on December 5, 2000. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  7. ^ モスバーガーの「モス」の由来は何ですか?. Yahoo!知恵袋 (in Japanese). Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  8. ^ "About MOS :: Origins". www.mosburger.com.sg. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  9. ^ "Mos Burger Website – Australia Store Information". MOS Food Services, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "MOS Burger announces closure of all Australian stores". News.com.au. August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "Japan's Mos Burger to open first branch in PH next year: report". ABS-CBN Corporation. June 7, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  12. ^ Howard, Michael C. (February 17, 2011). Transnationalism and Society: An Introduction - Michael C. Howard - Google Books. McFarland. ISBN 9780786486250. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  13. ^ "Asia Magazine". Asia Magazine. May 24, 2011. p. 147. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  14. ^ "Brisbane's best burgers: Check out our must try list". Courier Mail. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  15. ^ Liu, Alice (January 16, 2011). "East Meets West: Teriyaki Chicken Rice Burger". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  16. ^ Taipei Times

Further reading