John S. Wolfe

In 1988 two friends decided to open a hamburger restaurant in the Miraflores area of Lima, Peru.

The hamburger was not completely foreign, but it was viewed by Peruvians as more as a snack, to be eaten after 6 p.m.

The pair created Bembos as a spot for lunch or dinner by putting the burger on a plate, serving it with French fries and having a fork and knife close by. The approach worked.

Now Bembos has 40 stores across Peru, and holds about 50 percent market share. McDonalds and Burger King have come down from the United States but Bembos is holding its own.

The first point of differentiation is the burger. It’s a grilled, thick half-pounder, made up of beef mixed with spices. You can get a standard burger with cheese, but Bembos offers much more. “The Mexican,” for example, includes guacamole, cheese and tortilla chips between the buns. “The Royal” features beef, egg and cheese. “The Hawaiian includes beef, ham and pineapple. Other burgers include mushrooms and cheese, or sausage, or rice.

Bembos may be “fast food” – with drive-thrus – but it targets a middle-income to upscale audience, marketing director Ruben Mazzini told the class. The clientele can be described as managers or supervisors, between 25 and 45, who are willing to pay $10 for a meal. Families patronize stores but not a lot of teenagers, he said. McDonalds and Burger King serve the middle to lower markets.

Bembos’ marketing reflects its strategy. Its ads feature a nicely dressed professional woman who, after looking in both directions, bites into a big burger. It says, “Be yourself, express yourself, give a present to yourself, be a rebel,” Mr. Mazzini said.

The placement of stores was well thought out. Bembos targeted commercial areas of Lima for lunch crowds and residential areas for family dinners and weekend traffic. They allow some customization of the menu by area, introducing local specialties or ingredients.

It offers online ordering and has delivery. (That feature was started 15 years ago during a period of civil unrest; crime and curfews kept people in their homes at night.)

Bembos also sells salads, chicken sandwiches and ice cream.

Bembos – which boasts its products as “the best burgers in the world” – is open to expansion. Individuals have purchased franchises for Bembos outside of Peru. One store is in Guatemala; three have opened in India.

Before you ask, “A hamburger place in India?,” Mr. Mazzini notes that it serves veggie burgers and lamb burgers. Why did Bembos go there? “It’s a big market,” he simply replied.

Franchises are available for $35,000, plus 5% of sales. An ambitious individual with a love of burgers may want to open a Bembos in a place like Miami, gateway to Latin America.