Restaurant meal kits gain popularity in Korea

[Courtesy of Lotte Mart]

Restaurant meal replacement (RMR) products are gaining popularity in South Korea as the cost of eating out continues to rise.

RMR products, a type of home meal replacement (HMR) products, are made in collaboration with famous restaurants. They can be conveniently prepared at home using a microwave, pot, or air fryer.

According to major retailers, including large supermarkets and e-commerce platforms on Monday, RMR product sales grew sharply in the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period a year ago.

Homeplus’ RMR product sales rose by 148 percent during this period, while Lotte Mart and Lotte Supermarket each saw a 10 percent increase, and Emart saw a 7 percent rise.

These figures surpass the 4 percent growth rate in large supermarket sales reported by the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy for the first quarter of 2024.

SSG.com’s RMR product sales grew by 31 percent in the first five months of this year from a year ago while those of GS25 gained by 29.6 percent and CU by 20.5 percent.

In the past, major retailers and food companies had introduced RMR products to meet the demand for enjoying famous restaurant dishes at home. However, these were sporadic events.

The competition for RMR products intensified in 2020 with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as offline restaurant visits plummeted due to social distancing.

Famous restaurants actively developed RMR products in partnership with retail and food companies.

Emart, which has been the most active in selling RMR products in Korea, currently offers around 150 RMR products, more than double the 70 products available in 2021.

The surge in the interest in RMR products comes amid a sharp rise in dining-out costs.

According to Statistics Korea, dining-out prices increased by 2.8 percent in May compared to a year ago, slightly higher than the overall inflation rate of 2.7 percent.

The dining-out inflation rate has exceeded the overall consumer price inflation rate for 36 consecutive months since June 2021, when it was 2.6 percent compared to the overall rate of 2.3 percent.