GS Retail Meal Kit SimplyCook Grows with Home Shopping Partnership... Renewal Event Also Underway

GS Retail's meal kit brand, Simply Cook.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] GS Retail’s meal kit brand ‘Simply Cook’ has grown by 65% year-on-year in the first half of this year alone, showing synergy effects after integration with GS Home Shopping. Simply Cook, developed by researchers who are former chefs of luxury hotels, was first introduced in December 2017.

According to GS Retail on the 2nd, from 2019, when the business was fully launched, to 2021, Simply Cook’s annual average sales grew by 45% each year. In the first half of this year, sales expanded to GS Shop TV home shopping, jumping 65% year-on-year.

The flower crab sauce launched on GS Shop TV home shopping in March this year sold 150,000 packs over four broadcasts, and the seasoned webfoot octopus introduced in April sold 130,000 packs over three broadcasts. The seasoned webfoot octopus sold 500 million KRW worth in its first broadcast alone, selling out before the broadcast time ended.

GS Retail plans to continue its growth momentum in the second half of the year by strengthening sales through external channels, expanding the product lineup, and rebranding with more aggressive marketing activities, aiming to dominate the meal kit market.

First, it will strengthen sales through external channels such as Coupang, Naver Shopping, and Shinsegae Department Store, moving beyond sales centered on its own channels like GS25, GS Fresh Mall, GS The Fresh, and GS Shop.

The meal kit lineup will also increase from about 130 items currently, including home meal replacements (HMR), to around 200 items. In particular, it plans to offer a variety of products tailored to customers’ lifestyles, moving beyond traditional food categories such as Korean, Western, and Chinese cuisines.

The brand has also been newly reorganized. The slogan was set as ‘Close to Your Life,’ and the joy and confidence felt when discovering the desired food were symbolized with an exclamation mark (!) and reflected in the brand. To celebrate the brand renewal, GS Retail will give a pot collaborated with the famous cookware brand ‘Neoflam FIKA’ to all customers who purchase Simply Cook meal kits worth more than 50,000 KRW during the week until the 9th.

Cha Euncheol, head of GS Retail’s Fresh Mall Business Division, said, “As demand for convenience foods increased due to COVID-19, customers have become very familiar with meal kits,” adding, “Based on GS Retail’s differentiated experience and capabilities operating all distribution types such as convenience stores, supermarkets, and home shopping, we will grow the meal kit market and challenge to become the market leader.”

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