New Accounts Add 55 Vallarta Supermarkets Locations and Mark GEN's First University Dining and Live Entertainment Venue Placements
SoFi Stadium and Olé City Market Supplied Through GEN's National Distribution Agreement With UNFI as CPG Footprint Surpasses 2,000 Retail Locations Nationwide
CERRITOS, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 24, 2026 / GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. ("GEN" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:GENK), a leader in Korean BBQ both in-restaurant and at home, with 54 GEN Korean BBQ locations and a rapidly growing consumer packaged goods ("CPG") business, today announced four new retail and foodservice accounts for its ready-to-cook marinated Korean BBQ meats: Vallarta Supermarkets, the University of California, Los Angeles ("UCLA"), SoFi Stadium and Olé City Market.
The new accounts extend GEN's CPG business beyond traditional grocery and into university dining and live entertainment venues for the first time. Vallarta Supermarkets will carry GEN products across its 55 store locations, UCLA will serve GEN products through its campus dining program, and SoFi Stadium began offering GEN products earlier this month. Olé City Market is expected to begin carrying GEN products in the coming weeks. With these additions, GEN products are now available at more than 2,000 retail locations across the United States.
Founded in 1985, Vallarta Supermarkets is a family-owned grocery chain serving Hispanic communities across California. All 55 Vallarta locations will carry GEN's core line of four frozen, ready-to-cook marinated meats - GEN BBQ Beef Bulgogi, GEN BBQ Beef Short Rib, GEN Spicy Pork Bulgogi and GEN BBQ Chicken Bulgogi. The account builds on the Company's placement at Northgate Market announced in July and further extends the GEN brand to Hispanic shoppers, who represent a meaningful segment of GEN's restaurant guest base.
At UCLA, GEN products will be served to students through the university's campus dining program. The account is GEN's first university foodservice placement and opens a channel the Company plans to grow. At SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, GEN's four core marinated meats became available earlier this month, with the launch coinciding with BTS's four-show concert run at the stadium. The account is GEN's first placement at a live entertainment venue.
Olé City Market, a family-owned neighborhood grocery chain with six locations in Southern California, is expected to begin carrying GEN's four core marinated meats in the coming weeks.
SoFi Stadium and Olé City Market both source GEN products through the Company's national distribution agreement with United Natural Foods, Inc. ("UNFI"), one of the largest grocery distributors in North America. The UNFI relationship gives GEN a path to independent grocers, specialty retailers and venues nationwide without adding direct-ship complexity.
Each GEN product is prepared using the same marinades and recipes featured across the Company's restaurants and cooks in minutes on a grill, in a pan or in an air fryer, offering consumers a convenient way to recreate the GEN Korean BBQ experience at home. In addition to the new accounts, GEN products are carried by Albertsons banners, Stater Bros. Markets, Smart & Final, Save Mart Supermarkets, Northgate Market, Times Supermarkets and Bristol Farms, and the Company holds purchase commitments from more than 100 Costco Warehouse locations.
Management Commentary
"Every one of these accounts came to us because shoppers already know the GEN name," said David Kim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GEN. "Vallarta puts our products in front of families who cook at home every night. UCLA and SoFi Stadium put our food in front of tens of thousands of students and fans, many of whom may never have visited one of our restaurants.
"That is how a restaurant brand becomes a grocery brand, and we are just getting started. Ordering through UNFI matters as much as the accounts themselves, as it ensures any retailer or venue that wants to carry GEN can get our products through a distributor they already use," concluded Kim.
About GEN Restaurant Group, Inc.
GEN Korean BBQ (Nasdaq:GENK) is a leader in Korean BBQ, with 54 company-owned restaurant locations and a rapidly growing consumer packaged goods business. Founded in 2011 by two Korean immigrants in Los Angeles, GEN has grown into one of the largest Asian casual dining concepts in the United States, where an interactive "grill at your table" format, extensive menu of traditional Korean-inspired dishes, modern décor and lively atmosphere draw a broad and loyal guest base. As Korean flavors move further into the American mainstream, the Company's rapidly growing consumer packaged goods business is capturing at-home dining occasions, with distribution expanding across grocery and warehouse club retailers nationwide. For more information, visit GenKoreanBBQ.com and follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "intend," "expect," "will," "may," "could," "potential," and other similar words or expressions that predict or indicate future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding the retail and foodservice accounts described in this press release, including the expected timing of product availability at Olé City Market, and their anticipated benefits or impact; any statements regarding the Company's distribution relationships, including with UNFI, and their expected benefits; any statements regarding our strategy, future operations, and growth prospects, including expectations relating to the Company's CPG division and its expansion into new channels; any projections regarding the number of locations carrying our CPG products; any statements regarding the amount or timing of future revenue or revenue growth; any statements of belief or expectation; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing or other future events. Forward-looking statements are based on current information available at the time the statements are made and on management's reasonable belief or expectations with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including decisions by retailers, foodservice operators and distributors, consumer demand, and supply chain and manufacturing capacity, that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from the belief or expectations expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Additional factors or events that could cause actual results to differ may also emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect future events, developments or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Investors are referred to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, for additional information regarding the risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
Investor Relations Contact
Lucas A. Zimmerman
Managing Director
MZ Group - MZ North America
(949) 259-4987
GENK@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us
SOURCE: GEN Restaurant Group
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/food-and-beverage-products/gen-restaurant-group-expands-distribution-with-vallarta-supermarkets-ucl-1226513
