Korean food companies expand in-flight catering business

[Courtesy of CJ Cheiljedang Corp.]

South Korean food companies are expanding their in-flight catering businesses amid the recovery in travel demand.

CJ Cheiljedang Corp. announced Monday that it will join hands with T‘way Air Co., the first Korean low-cost carrier (LCC) to fly to Europe, to introduce two new in-flight menus.

The menus, developed jointly by the two companies, will be served on T’way Air‘s Incheon-Zagreb route, which begins on Thursday.

Menus include Beef Mushroom Porridge and Sausage and Egg Brunch designed for long-haul flights.

CJ Cheiljedang and T’way Air have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the joint development of in-flight meals.

CJ Cheiljedang will develop ready-to-eat frozen in-flight meals, while T’way Air will be in charge of the sales and marketing.

In-flight catering requires consideration of the internal environment of aircraft at high altitudes, making it difficult for LCCs to develop in-house.

As a result, there is a trend to collaborate with food companies that have extensive research and development (R&D) experience and dedicated production lines to create synergies.

Food companies are also expanding their in-flight catering businesses in response to the increased demand for travel after the Covid-19 pandemic.

CJ Cheiljedang has developed its home meal replacement brand Gourmet menus into in-flight meals for LCC routes in Southeast Asia.

[Courtesy of CJ Foodville Co.]

CJ Foodville Co.‘s VIPS launched a pepperoni pizza developed exclusively for in-flight meals on Eastar Jet Co. last year. It also introduced Korean-style chicken nuggets with Genesis BBQ Co.’s chicken franchise BBQ on routes to Taiwan, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Jeju Air Co. is also active in seeking collaboration with local restaurants and eateries for in-flight catering.

Jeju Air collaborates with Korean restaurant Samwon Garden to offer dishes such as packaged meals with braised beef short rib, beef patty and marinated Jeju shrimp.

Air Busan Co. offers Yookasomsee’s Dakgalbi, or spicy stir-fried chicken, developed in collaboration with Busan restaurant Yookasomsee, as an in-flight meal.

Ourhome Ltd., a company specializing in group catering and food supplies, is also expanding its in-flight catering business in the United States.

Ourhome strengthened its overseas in-flight catering business by acquiring Hacor Inc, a U.S. in-flight catering service company, in 2018.

Hacor‘s sales reached 87 billion won ($63.6 million) last year, up 40 percent year-on-year, on the back of increased travel demand.