Fresh food subscription service gains popularity in Korea

Fredit. [Courtesy of hy Co.]

A subscription service delivering fresh food and ingredients at regular intervals is gaining popularity in South Korea.

hy Co., formerly Korea Yakult, reported a significant increase in its regular subscriptions for fresh food products such as eggs, fruits, and tofu, which are available on its online shopping mall Fredit, on Tuesday. The company saw the number of new subscribers for fresh products increase by 91.6 percent after enhancing discount benefits for regular subscribers in September 2023.

hy has been at the forefront of providing subscription services for food ingredients by leveraging its experience and workforce in delivering fermented milk such as yogurt. Customers with a regular subscription can have their chosen products delivered for free by ‘fresh managers,’ or delivery personnel for yogurt, on their preferred days and frequency.

“Based on our experience gained from delivering fermented yogurt daily for the past 50 years, we are now enhancing our regular delivery competitiveness by extending it not only to food ingredients but also to household items,” a senior hy official said.

The company has successfully secured consumers across various age groups, with more than half of Fredit subscribers in their 50s (27.2 percent) and 40s (25.6 percent), as well as a high percentage in those in their 60s (19.4 percent) and 30s (18.5 percent).

hy recently expanded its subscription product lineup to include small household items such as kitchen towels, toilet paper, and even special milk for pets, in addition to its 80 varieties of meal replacement products.

The trend in health-focused diets, which primarily targeted middle-aged and older consumers in the past, is expanding to include younger customers.

Hyundai Green Food Co, a comprehensive food company affiliated with Hyundai Department Store Group, a major Korean retailer, offers over 300 convenient care food items via its customized health diet brand Greating. The brand’s regular subscription sales in January and February of 2024 showed a 103 percent growth compared to the same period a year ago.

Greating. [Courtesy of Hyundai Green Food Co]

Greating‘s diet plans are highly convenient as they allow customers to choose their desired diet and delivery frequency. The diet plans are reasonably priced between 8,500 to 15,000 won ($11.45) per meal, or a 5 percent discount compared to individual purchases. The main customer base for Greating’s regular subscriptions is people in their 30s (37 percent), followed by those in their 40s (27 percent), 50s (18 percent), and those under 20s (10 percent). The demand for specialized diets like ‘medi-food’ for people with chronic diseases is also steadily increasing.

“While in the past, women in their 30s and 40s were the main customer base, men in their 30s are also showing an interest in health,” a Hyundai Green Food official said. “This indicates that more and more consumers want to have professionally controlled nutrition such as sugar management and sodium control from a young age.“

Pulmuone Co., for its part, offers disease-tailored diets like ‘medicare meal’ and the senior-specific ‘senior care meal’ through its dietary management healthcare platform Design Meal. The company expanded its services to a healthcare platform specializing in personalized diets that integrates not only diets but also health management functions such as functional foods, exercise records, and content in 2024.