Mos Burgers'Challenges During the Pandemic - 4th Year Japanese - Business Language Case Fellowship

Sep 2, 2026

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Japanese fast-food chain Mos Burger experiences a major sales decline before the COVID-19 pandemic but records a 23.5% sales increase during the pandemic, outperforming major rivals in Japan. The case analyzes pre-pandemic causes behind falling sales and profits and examines marketing strategies used to recover. It also extracts lessons for businesses in the New Normal era, linking pandemic pressure, consumer needs, and Mos Burger’s business model.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

GW-CIBER Business Language Case Fellowship

Case overview: Mos Burger and pandemic challenges

Classroom plan

Reading and documentary activities

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GW-CIBER Business Language Case Fellowship | | --- | | | | A Turning Point for Fast-food Business in Japan: Mos Burgers'Challenges During the Pandemic
Language Level: Advanced/4th Year Japanese
Time needed: 8 classes (75 minute per class)
Yoshiko Mori
Associate Professor and Director of the Japanese Language Program, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Mos Burger, a Japanese fast-food restaurant established in 1972, had experienced a huge drop in sales before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has seen a 23.5% increase in sales during the pandemic when many restaurants/food businesses were suffering. This increase was higher than the sales of major fast-food chains such as McDonald Japan. This case study explores factors accounting for decreases in sales and profits that Mos Burger experienced before the pandemic, and their marketing strategies to recover during the pandemic. It also explores what businesses in the New Normal era can learn from Mos Burger’s business model.
Case (Japanese):
2020年4月、日本政府は新型コロナウィルス感染拡大のため、全国に緊急事態宣言を発令しました。飲食店や外食業者には、営業時間の短縮や午後8時以降の酒類の販売禁止など、きびしい規制が課せられました。その後も何度か、感染者の多い都道府県で緊急事態宣言が発令され、多くの飲食店が、経営困難、または、廃業に追い込まれました。特に大きな打撃を受けたのが、小規模な個人経営のレストラン、カフェ、バーなどです（ [https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXKZO64353870Z20C20A9EA2000/](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXKZO64353870Z20C20A9EA2000/)）。
その一方で、テイクアウトとデリバリーを主なサービスとするファストフード業界は、比較的売り上げが好調でした。しかし、日本のファストフード業界は競争の厳しいところです。世界的なフランチャイズのマクドナルドやKFCジャパン、さらに、古くから日本人に愛されている寿司、おにぎり、弁当、牛丼、菓子パンやサンドイッチ業者など、競合企業がたくさんあります。日本には、ユネスコの無形文化遺産に登録された伝統的な和食文化もありますが、ファストフードの文化もあります。日本の生活は忙しく、人々はコンビニ、立ち食い店、駅の売店などで、そば、ラーメン、カレーライス、唐揚げなど、おいしくてさっと食べられる様々なファストフードを利用しています。ハンバーガーも若い消費者に人気がありますが、高齢者には好まれているとは限りません。日本は高齢社会で、年配の消費者の好みも大切な要因です。
モスバーガーは、 1972年に創業した日本のファストフードの会社です。その前年に、世界的なファストフードチェーンのマクドナルドが、東京の銀座に日本第一号店をオープンしています。モスバーガーは、日本の消費者の好みに合ったハンバーガーを開発してきました。主な人気商品は、しょうゆと味噌で味付けしたテリヤキバーガー、米で作ったパンではさんだライスバーガー、特製トマトソースの定番モスバーガーなどで | | Class | Preparation / Documents needed | In-class Activities / Tasks | Quiz /
Assignment | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Worksheet 1
Expressions: Describing Graph | Intro/Warm-up:
● Discuss favorite Japanese food: What do students know and not know about Japanese food?
● Describe Japanese fast food using images: What it is, its ingredients, when to eat, target consumers, etc.
TV commercials:
● Watch and compare the TV commercials of McDonald and Mos Burger.
● Discuss differences between the two commercials: Who is the target audience? What images does each commercial try to create? What do students think about each commercial as consumers?
Graph description:
● Describe the graph in Worksheet 1 (the one comparing hamburger spending per household by gender and age), using learned expressions, and discuss trends. | Write a one
page description of the graph and trends, and post it on Canvas | | 2 | Obtain basic information about Mos Burger using Worksheet 2
Reading 1
Worksheet 3
Word list
Kanji-word worksheet | Introduction to Mos Burger:
● Information sharing: Basic information about Mos Food Service
● Using Worksheet 2, examine Mos Burger’s sales and profits in the past five years and compare them with those of the other fast-food chains
Reading 1: Food poisoning:
● Read “モスバーガーで食中毒、営業停止処分小学生ら4 人感染[Food poisoning at Mos Burger: Business suspension: 4 elementary school students affected]”(Asahi | Kanji-word quiz: Kanjiword worksheet
Complete
Worksheet 2
and submit it in Canvas | | | | Digital, 2018/9/10) and complete comprehension questions ● Discuss factors accounting for the huge drop in sales and
profits in 2019 | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 3 | Reading 2 Worksheet 4
Word list | Reading 2: Pandemic:
● Read “外食の倒産とはコロナ関連、業種別で最多[Pandemic-related bankruptcy in food-service industry:
Highest in all industries]”(Nikkei, 2020/9/29) and compete
comprehension questions
● Discuss reasons why the pandemic has severely affected restaurant/foo

FAQs

Why did Mos Burger’s sales drop before the COVID-19 pandemic?

The case explores factors accounting for decreases in Mos Burger’s sales and profits prior to the pandemic, leading to reduced performance before COVID-19.

What contributed to Mos Burger’s sales increase during the pandemic?

The case highlights Mos Burger’s marketing and business strategies that helped it recover during the pandemic, even as many food businesses struggled.

How does the learning plan help students analyze Mos Burger’s challenges and strategies?

The plan combines graph description, readings on pandemic impacts and food poisoning, and a TV documentary, then uses discussions and quizzes to identify products, digital measures, and takeout-related strategies.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Asher