[2021 Asia Consumer Awards] "The Ability to Co-create with Consumers is a Competitive Advantage"

Professor Yoo Chang-jo, Dongguk University, Review Comments

Professor Yoo Chang-jo, Department of Business Administration, Dongguk University

The 15th Asia Consumer Awards by Asia Economy this year certifies brands that develop and provide products or services centered on consumers and receive the highest evaluations from consumer assessments.

This year as well, an online survey was conducted targeting actual consumers, followed by a comprehensive award evaluation conducted remotely by practitioners from various institutions including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Korea Food Industry Association.

The Consumer Awards are broadly divided into category awards and institution head awards, with consumer evaluations being the top priority. In the category award evaluation, companies with the best consumer evaluations were selected as award candidates, after which their business ethics were reviewed. For the institution head awards, six candidates who received the highest evaluations from consumers were selected, then a panel of six judges re-evaluated them and selected the winners considering their relevance to government ministries’ work.

As a result, CJ CheilJedang (Bibigo Soup, Stew, and Jjigae) received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award; Amorepacific (Sulwhasoo) and Lotte Duty Free received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award; Ottogi (Ottogi Cupbap) received the Minister of Food and Drug Safety Award; Dongseo Food (Maxim Kanu) received the Korea Food Industry Association President Award; and Paris Croissant received the Asia Economy Special Award.

With the Fourth Industrial Revolution based on advanced technology, companies and society have become interconnected communities with mutual interdependence, making Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management a key topic recently. Companies must now voluntarily realize environmental and social values alongside economic performance, and to this end, they must reorganize governance to pursue sustainable growth. The competitiveness of companies now lies in their ability to co-create with consumers and various stakeholders.

We hope that the awarded companies will become a new driving force for the Korean economy by creating conditions that allow consumers and stakeholders to participate in management and by jointly creating products or services.

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