People Eating Salad Instead of 'Gayeol Yori' Cooking Have Increased

Increase in Office Salad Eaters Enjoying Solo Salad Meals
Popularization of Dawn Delivery and Acceleration of Salad Specialty Store Openings

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, salads are becoming a staple food. This is because consumers are looking for low-calorie, high-nutrition foods that can be eaten lightly due to reduced physical activity, and the number of office salad eaters who want convenient and healthy solo meals even when going to work is increasing.

In particular, sales of salad "ready-made products" and "kits" are significantly increasing. Making salads yourself requires purchasing various vegetables and dividing them, which is cumbersome, and it is difficult to keep leftover ingredients fresh, so demand for ready-made products that can be easily enjoyed in various ways is growing.

Recently, it has become easier to receive fresh salads within a day through dawn delivery, and it is not difficult to find salad specialty stores on the streets, increasing accessibility and bringing salads closer as a daily staple food.

On the 16th, according to the related industry, meal kit company MyChef's salad category sales in July increased by 388% compared to the previous month, and sales volume rose by 412%. Salad sales sharply increased in July when social distancing measures were strengthened. Also, in June and July, MyChef's "Jjim Salad" products showed overwhelmingly high sales on dawn delivery services such as Market Kurly, Coupang, and SSG.com among sales channels.

A marketing team official from MyChef said, "Looking at consumer responses on our own mall, the number of customers seeking salads as a healthy and hearty meal has greatly increased recently as they work from home and get tired of spicy delivery food," adding, "Especially this hot summer, the fact that salads can be eaten simply without heating seems to have contributed to the sales growth."

Reflecting this demand, MyChef recently expanded its salad product line. Last year, it introduced "4 types of Jjim Salad." The 4 types of Jjim Salad provide a hearty meal with an average of 300 kcal and a balanced ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In addition, in July, they launched "3 types of Noodle Salad" that can be enjoyed as a single meal, as well as exotic-flavored taco salad "Mexican Tortilla Assorted Salad" and "Greek Pita Bread Salad."

Shinsegae Food also reported that salad sales from the 1st to the 15th of last month increased by 67% compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, salad sales at E-Mart from January to June this year increased by 55% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales at SSG.com and E-Mart24 also increased by 32% and 46%, respectively. Shinsegae Food plans to continue meeting rising consumer demand by offering salads using premium ingredients or delivery-only menus.

SPC Group's salad brand Pig in the Garden saw sales in the first half of this year increase by 172% compared to the same period last year. Delivery orders increased by about 200% as of June compared to the same period last year. Pig in the Garden opened its 5th store in Gwanghwamun following Yeouido, Gangnam, Pangyo, and COEX stores since its start in 2017.

Dongwon Home Food's premium salad cafe Crispy Fresh has seen individual store sales approximately double compared to their opening, from the first store Hapjeong opened in May last year to the fourth store Yeouido Park One opened in March this year. Accordingly, after about 1 year and 2 months since its launch, the 5th store opened this month at Pamier Station in Banpo-dong, Seoul. Crispy Fresh plans to open additional stores this year in Gwanghwamun and Lotte Mall Gimpo Airport.

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