Baemin postpones paid subscription service launch to Sept. 11

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

South Korea’s food delivery app Baedal Minjok (Baemin) announced on Monday that it will put off the launch of its paid subscription service until September 11.

The service – Baemin Club – is a subscription membership program that offers benefits such as free delivery for bundled orders and discounts on delivery fees for single-destination delivery orders.

The monthly fee is set at 3,990 won ($2.99) but the current promotional price of 1,990 won will remain for the time being.

Initially, Baemin planned to transition Baemin Club from a free trial, which began on May 28, to a paid service starting on August 20.

However, the company decided to postpone this change after expanding its free delivery benefits to restaurants that handle their own deliveries rather than using Baemin’s delivery riders.

Originally, Baemin Club’s free delivery benefits applied only to restaurants using Baemin’s delivery riders.

Restaurants with their own delivery systems were excluded from these benefits, even if they joined Baemin Club.

Starting September 11, Baemin will extend free delivery benefits to these self-delivering restaurants as well, aligning the paid subscription launch with this change.

Baemin will also support self-delivering restaurants by covering 2,000 won per delivery for up to four months when they offer free delivery. For example, if a restaurant typically charges 1,500 won for delivery but decides to offer it for free, Baemin will provide 2,000 won in support, resulting in a 500 won profit for the restaurant. If the delivery fee exceeds 2,000 won, the restaurant will need to cover the remaining cost.

“We have postponed the official launch of Baemin Club to allow more restaurants to offer free delivery benefits to subscribed customers,” said a company spokesperson. “In addition to free food delivery, we are also working on adding grocery shopping, retail benefits, and partner perks to make the service even more valuable.”

Since July 9, Baemin has been running a pre-registration promotion for Baemin Club, offering early sign-ups up to one year of free membership.

Baemin Club is the company’s first subscription service, launched to improve profitability amid increasing competition in the food delivery platform industry.

Although Baemin initially offered free delivery to attract users, it realized that a subscription model is necessary to maintain financial stability in covering free delivery costs.