Lotte Duty Free, 'LDF Startups' 3rd Cohort Launch Ceremony for Youth Enterprises Held

Lotte Duty Free selected the final five teams for the 3rd term of 'LDF Startups' and held a non-face-to-face launch ceremony to commemorate this on the 31st of last month. Lee Sang-jin, Head of Marketing at Lotte Duty Free, along with the selected young entrepreneurs and related personnel, conducted an orientation followed by a commemorative photo session.

Five Teams Selected for 'LDF Startups 3rd Cohort' Supporting Youth Enterprises in Busan Area
Up to 40 Million KRW Provided per Team... 12 Weeks of One-on-One Customized Coaching

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Duty Free announced on the 1st that it selected five youth enterprise teams for the third cohort of 'LDF Startups' on the 31st of last month and held a non-face-to-face launching ceremony to commemorate the event.

Lotte Duty Free selected the final five teams through three rounds of evaluation, including document screening, non-face-to-face business presentations, and presentations. Each youth enterprise will receive up to 40 million KRW in business support funds, and together with the Korea Productivity Center, Busan City, and Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center, an accelerating program including about three months of one-on-one customized coaching and mentoring will be conducted. They will also be given the benefit of participating in 'L-CAMP,' a startup incubating program run by Lotte Ventures, Lotte Group’s corporate venture capital.

The third cohort project features youth enterprises such as 'T&G,' which upcycles hard-to-recycle waste tires into casual shoes; 'Mallanghani,' which produces baby products through online keyword analysis; 'Yacht People,' which develops fashion items and plans experiential products using yacht sails discarded as marine waste; 'Cosmile Corporation,' which makes eco-friendly cosmetics using raw materials from the Busan area; and 'Return Box,' which provides round-trip carrier transport services for travelers.

Yoo Junsung, CEO of 'T&G,' said, "We expect the Startups project to greatly help promote and grow our brand," adding, "We dream of entering the B2B market and overseas markets by collaborating with the footwear industrial complex in the Busan area." Yoon Jigeun, CEO of 'Return Box,' expressed, "We will strive to revitalize tourism in the Busan area and create a win-win effect for small business owners," sharing their thoughts on being selected.

'LDF Startups' is Lotte Duty Free’s flagship social contribution activity launched in 2019 to foster youth startups, contributing to local job creation and economic revitalization. It supported 20 youth enterprises in Busan for the first cohort and Jeju for the second cohort, achieving up to a 400% increase in sales and creating about 80 local jobs. It also achieved results in revitalizing local tourism through the development of experiential tourism products and improvement of travel convenience services based in Busan and Jeju.

Lee Sangjin, Head of Marketing at Lotte Duty Free, said, "We hope this third cohort project will become a new wave for the Busan regional economy, tourism market, and youth enterprises with dreams," adding, "Lotte Duty Free will continue to carry out various social contribution activities for mutual growth with local communities."

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