[Distribution Hot People] "15-20% of Agricultural Products Are Wasted Annually, We Will Sell Them Well"

Im Hyejin 11st New Product Planning Team MD Interview
From Selling School Meal Agricultural Products with Blocked Distribution Channels
to Launching Ugly Agricultural Products 'Uglyverly'
Uglyverly Gulbi and Avocado Also Scheduled for Release

Hyejin Lim, MD of New Product Planning Team at 11st. Photo by 11st

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] March was the worst month when the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) exceeded 5,000. However, it was also a month when hope for coexistence shone through the pain. Domestic agricultural products for school meals were discarded, and those that were considered ugly, too large, or too small faced blocked sales channels, but they received new attention. This is the story of 11st, which first thought of 'coexistence' and sold discarded agricultural products for school meals through the 'Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Package for School Meals,' and then launched the ugly agricultural product specialty brand 'Uglyvely.'

Im Hye-jin, MD (Merchandiser) of the New Product Planning Team at 11st, the owner of the 'Uglyvely' brand, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 19th, "After seeing news that agricultural products for school meals were at risk of being discarded, I contacted the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs customer center without hesitation and expressed that 11st wanted to sell them." She added, "Confident in our ability, we proactively proposed helping farms affected by COVID-19 to the Ministry, and fortunately, the response was positive."

11st, which handled distribution, had a heavy responsibility. They reduced the sales commission by half and created detailed product description pages themselves. The Ministry of Agriculture produced related videos and conducted viral marketing. Through this collaboration, the eco-friendly agricultural product package was first introduced on March 18. Within 30 minutes of opening, 3,000 units were sold. The Ministry also expressed gratitude by providing additional marketing support for the April event. In April, Lee Sang-ho, CEO of 11st, introduced in a CEO weekly letter sent to all employees that "more than 6,000 sets of eco-friendly agricultural product packages for school meals have been sold. It’s truly remarkable," which became a hot topic.

MD Im decided to develop the idea of creating a channel for continuous ethical consumption. This led to the launch of 11st’s first ugly agricultural product specialty brand, Uglyvely. According to farms and related industries, the amount of agricultural products discarded annually is estimated to be around 15-20% of the total annual production value (29.007 trillion KRW). At least 4.5 trillion KRW worth of products are sold at discounted prices or processed into secondary products such as jams or juices simply because they are considered 'ugly.'

Im Hye-jin MD said, "Similar to the 'Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables' campaign conducted by the French supermarket chain Intermarch? in 2014, we thought about creating a continuous sales channel rather than a one-time event," adding, "Since direct purchasing is difficult, we partnered with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) for quality control." Currently, they are sourcing products from seven production areas including Seongju melons, Andong pears, Nonsan Kingsberry strawberries, and Busan salty tomatoes. By the end of this month, they plan to introduce dried yellow corvina in collaboration with the Fisheries Cooperative and avocados in partnership with the imported fruit brand Dole.

The biggest feature of the Uglyvely brand is that it explains in as much detail as possible 'how the product is ugly.' Due to the nature of e-commerce, where visual confirmation is difficult, if the appearance or sweetness of the product is not sufficiently explained, the return rate increases. Although the brand started with good intentions, there were concerns that it could harm both producers and consumers. Customer responses have not been bad; the products have an average rating of 4.3 out of 5.

What is her belief about ethical consumption? MD Im said, "I think ethical consumption with rewards rather than simple donations will become more mainstream," adding, "Moreover, many people are struggling due to COVID-19, and just knowing that my consumption helps someone else might stimulate the desire to consume." She also expressed her ambition to jointly plan products with social enterprises that pursue ethical consumption in the future, aiming to achieve both sales and social value.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.