[Report] "Already Over 5,000 People on the First Day" Kurly's First Offline Festival in 8 Years (Comprehensive)

Held at DDP Art Hall from the 6th to the 9th
85 partner companies and 130 F&B brands participating
Strengthening skinship and expanding scale between partners and customers
Kim Seul-ah: "Creating a happy ecosystem for producers and customers"

On the 6th, when the scorching heat was at its peak, the Art Hall 1 and 2 of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul were filled with thousands of people before lunchtime. They had gathered to participate in the large-scale offline event that Curly held for the first time since its founding, celebrating its 8th anniversary this year. The venue was packed with brand booths showcasing desserts, ready meals, fresh foods, soups, and side dishes, each flaunting their brand personalities through various interior designs. From the small props displayed in front of the booths to the patterns and colors on the booth walls, every little detail reflected the brands’ efforts to express their identities. Park Ye-in (25), who visited the event, took commemorative photos at a dessert brand booth inspired by a European vintage caf?, using it as a 'photo zone.' Park said, "Each booth has a completely different atmosphere, so it really feels like being in a theme park," adding, "The scale is so big that it will take quite some time to explore each one."

The area in front of the brand booths participating in the '2023 Kurly Food Festa' is bustling with visitors.
[Photo by Lee Seohee]

The event, which continues for four days until the 9th, features 85 representative partner companies and over 130 food and beverage (F&B) brands affiliated with Curly. These companies offer a 40% discount on products exhibited at the venue for customers purchasing through Curly Mall, and they also enhance the festive atmosphere by giving away various products for free on the spot through on-site events. Despite being a weekday, about 5,000 visitors, mainly women in their 30s who are Curly’s key customers, attended on the first day. Curly expects 15,000 to 20,000 customers to visit the venue over the four days.

Curly planned this large-scale event for the first time to introduce the partner companies that have grown together over eight years directly to customers face-to-face, and to hear vivid feedback from customers on-site. Although they have been running non-stop through an online platform, they felt it was regrettable that there had been no opportunity to meet the representative brands and customers in person. Inari Lee, Vice President of Curly, who was met at the venue, explained, "After providing services online for about eight years, even though we have many loyal customers, there were not many opportunities to hear their feedback directly," adding, "We had a strong desire to share value by interacting directly with customers, cherishing their feedback."

The booth view of 'Maison MO' participating in the 2023 Kurly Food Festa
Photo by Seohee Lee

There is also an analysis that this event serves as a declaration of Curly’s full-scale 'body expansion' after withdrawing its IPO. Curly postponed its domestic stock market listing earlier this year, citing the worsening global economic situation, and recorded sales of 509.6 billion KRW and an operating loss of 30.5 billion KRW in the first quarter, successfully reducing the deficit by more than 40% compared to the same period last year, with ambitions to strengthen its business further in the second half of the year. A Curly official said, "It is difficult to say that this event is specifically aimed at preparing for an IPO, but going public is always an issue we are mindful of internally," adding, "We are watching for the right timing for the IPO."

Inside the venue, Curly is also actively recruiting partners by setting up consultation booths for store entry inquiries. The response has been so good that inquiries for 'consultations with MDs' have poured in even before the event opened. A Curly official stated, "We are internally considering holding similar offline events regularly in the future," and added, "We hope this event becomes a special experience for our partner companies and customers who have grown together."

Meanwhile, on the first day of the conference held alongside the event, Curly CEO Kim Seul-ah delivered the keynote speech explaining Curly’s vision of 'realizing a sustainable distribution ecosystem.' CEO Kim emphasized, "So far, Curly has achieved great innovation through a direct purchase structure, securing product diversity, obsession with customer feedback, logistics innovation, and eco-friendly packaging," and added, "Going forward, we will continue to meet diverse customer demands based on technology and data, contributing to the realization of a distribution ecosystem where producers and industry workers are all happy."

The 2023 Kurly Food Festa was held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Seohee Lee]

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