Hyundai Department Store's 'BaroToHome' Launches Unique Delivery Service Featuring Freshly Steamed King Crab and Lobster

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Hyundai Department Store’s ‘BaroToHome’ is launching a unique service that delivers freshly steamed king crab, lobster, and snow crab directly to customers’ homes.

On the 2nd, Hyundai Department Store announced that it will introduce the ‘Crab Store ToHome’ service on its food specialty online mall, ‘Hyundai Food Hall ToHome,’ which steams king crab, lobster, and snow crab won at auction that day from the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul and delivers them directly to customers’ homes.

This service operates only in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon (excluding some areas), where quick service delivery is available. This is the first time that king crab, lobster, or snow crab ordered from the online mall are steamed and delivered directly to customers’ homes.

If customers place an order by midnight the previous night through the Hyundai Food Hall ToHome online site or mobile application, fresh king crab, lobster, and snow crab won at the auction the next dawn will be steamed by a specialized steaming vendor at Noryangjin Fish Market and delivered to their homes. Customers can choose their preferred delivery time during lunch hours (12 PM to 1 PM) or dinner hours (5 PM to 7 PM), and to ensure customers can enjoy the freshly steamed products before they cool, delivery is made within two hours after cooking.

The prices are fixed: a 2.5 kg king crab (Russian origin) costs 250,000 KRW, and a 3 kg king crab costs 300,000 KRW. For lobster (Canadian origin), one lobster (1 kg) is 79,000 KRW, and two lobsters (1 kg × 2) are 140,000 KRW. Snow crab (Russian origin) is priced at 90,000 KRW for one crab (1?1.2 kg) and 160,000 KRW for two crabs (1?1.2 kg × 2). Delivery is free throughout Seoul, while in Gyeonggi and Incheon, delivery fees range from 20,000 to 50,000 KRW depending on the distance.

Hyundai Department Store decided to launch the ‘Crab Store ToHome’ service due to increased demand for premium ingredients like king crab, lobster, and snow crab, which were mainly consumed dining out, as dining out decreased and home dining increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Hyundai Department Store’s sales of premium ingredients (seafood, meat, vegetables, etc.) in the first half of this year rose 26.6% compared to the same period last year.

A Hyundai Department Store official said, “Considering the hassle of cleaning and cooking king crab or snow crab at home, we have introduced a new delivery service where specialized steaming vendors prepare and deliver the products to customers’ homes. The delivered products undergo strict quality inspections, with Hyundai Department Store buyers personally visiting Noryangjin Fish Market every dawn to inspect them.”

In addition to king crab, lobster, and snow crab, Hyundai Department Store plans to offer seasonal seafood according to the season. Until November, they will sell autumn seasonal ‘male blue crab (1.3?1.6 kg, 80,000 KRW)’ and a ‘whiteleg shrimp and scallop set (1 kg, 75,000 KRW),’ and in December, they plan to sell oysters and abalone, which are most delicious in winter.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Food Hall ToHome, which opened in July, is an online food specialty mall with the concept of ‘delivering the entire Hyundai Department Store food hall products to your home.’ It offers a comprehensive range of fresh foods sold at the department store food hall, F&B (deli, bakery, etc.), processed foods from famous external restaurants, as well as prepared foods from the department store’s specialty restaurants.

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