Lotte Duty Free Launches Support Project for Young Entrepreneurs in Jeju Region

Participants attending the Demo Day are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Lotte Duty Free)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Lotte Duty Free announced on the 24th that it held the 4th LDF Startups Demo Day at Signiel Busan the previous day.

LDF Startups is a social contribution project by Lotte Duty Free that has been fostering youth startups since 2019 to create local jobs and revitalize the economy. Lotte Duty Free, together with the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, organized the Demo Day to share the achievements and experiences of five youth companies from Jeju who received 10 weeks of accelerating support.

The 4th project began recruiting in May for youth companies operating businesses that can coexist with the Jeju region, with a competition rate of 14 to 1. The five companies finally selected received up to 40 million KRW per company in business expenses and participated in a customized accelerating program supported by the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, among various benefits. They expanded competitiveness through expanding distribution channels and partner companies, launching new products, and as a result, their sales scale increased by an average of about 50% compared to the previous year, leading to the creation of new jobs. In fact, youth companies ‘Broccoli Company’ and ‘Malanghani,’ which participated in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of Startups, received opportunities to enter Lotte Duty Free and are selling vegan cosmetics ‘Naui Ondo’ and infant shoe brand ‘Banheart’ products on the online duty-free store.

This project included youth companies with ingenious ideas that can coexist with the Jeju region, such as ‘Remedy,’ which recycles discarded bedding from hotels to produce pet products like toys and clothes; ‘Ilrowa,’ which discovers Jeju local brands and products, pioneers sales channels, and connects with tourists; ‘Jeju Clean Industry,’ which transforms unsellable tangerines into hand wash products or edible items like sherbet jelly; ‘Cacao Family,’ which makes caramel products from carrots produced in Jeju; and ‘Dolbaram Farm,’ which develops a diet food called ‘Protein Pig’ using less-preferred pork hind leg meat as a substitute for chicken breast.

Lee Sangjin, Head of Marketing at Lotte Duty Free, said in his opening remarks, “We hope that through LDF Startups, Lotte Duty Free has supported the challenges of youth companies and contributed to regional development,” adding, “We will continue various projects that can coexist with local communities and contribute to the development of the tourism industry.”

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