Ourhome, "Takeout Brand 'In the Box' Popular... Expanding Store Entries"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Ourhome announced on the 7th that it plans to expand the menu and increase store openings for its cafeteria takeout brand ‘In the Box,’ which has recently seen a surge in demand.

In the Box is a cafeteria-exclusive takeout brand launched by Ourhome in the first half of this year. Based on the main concept of ‘a simple but enjoyable meal for busy modern people,’ the product line is divided into Healthy Box, Meal Box, and Snack Box according to categories such as salads, stir-fried noodles, rice bowls, and bakery items. In particular, In the Box offers fresh and nutritious meals by directly preparing and packaging food every morning at the store (cafeteria) using ingredients sourced on the same day.

Representative Healthy Box menu items include the ‘Protein Avocado Salad,’ which is rich in protein with avocado, tofu, and savory sesame sauce; the Korean-style salad ‘Beef Mushroom Salad,’ flavored with bulgogi, brown rice, mushrooms, and a special soy sauce; and the Middle Eastern-style salad ‘Tabbouleh Hot Chicken Salad,’ which combines spicy chicken steak and couscous tossed in a tangy dressing.

The Meal Box, offering a heartfelt meal, mainly features exotic noodle and rice bowl dishes. Popular items include the Chinese-style stir-fried noodles ‘Mongolian Stir-fried Noodles,’ made with crispy chicken karaage and spaghetti noodles stir-fried in Mongolian sauce; the Southeast Asian-style ‘Pad Thai Stir-fried Noodles,’ with shrimp, bean sprouts, and cha gio, seasoned with fish sauce; and the ‘Pu Pad Pong Curry Rice Bowl,’ which contains crispy crab meat tempura, soft coconut milk, and curry sauce.

The Snack Box offers a variety of bakery items such as the ‘Seonsik Set’ and ‘Cereal and Milk,’ as well as the ‘Maple Pecan Pie’ topped with savory pecans and maple syrup, the ‘Apricot Crown’ filled with tangy apricot jam, and the sweet ‘Choco Croissant’ with chocolate topping and cream.

Since its launch in April, In the Box has rapidly increased store openings and sales. Ourhome analyzed that the recent spread of the untact (contactless) trend is a major cause. In fact, after the expansion of social distancing measures, sales of In the Box at Ourhome stores in Seoul and the metropolitan area in the 3rd and 4th weeks of August grew by more than 32% compared to the previous two weeks, and the sales proportion within total group catering sales also increased by about 23%.

An Ourhome official said, “With the recent social distancing and untact trends, more customers are seeking convenient lunch options, leading to a rapid increase in demand for In the Box,” adding, “We plan to continuously introduce various In the Box menus considering convenience, such as seasonal items like seaweed konjac buckwheat noodles and musubi.”

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