[Distribution Hot People] "God-level value half-price pizza and premium desserts... All crafted by my hands"

Choi Hee-joo Homeplus PBGS Food Team Buyer Interview

MZ Buyer Leading Half-Price Pizza Craze in High Inflation Era
300,000 Units Sold... 80,000 Units Sold Out in 7 Days of Promotion
Unique Dessert Targeting 'Early Eaters' in UK Iceland

"Even the same consumer does not always have the same consumption pattern." One day, they become part of the 'Jjantech' group, focusing on cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price), while on another day, they turn their attention to premium gourmet food. A third-year frozen product buyer who is 'serious about food' paid attention to this point. When considering cost-effectiveness, they prepared to offer a pizza for as low as 2,000 won to enjoy pleasantly, and for the 'early-eater' seeking new flavors, they adopted a two-track strategy by discovering and introducing global brands still unfamiliar in Korea, which turned out to be a great success. The protagonist is Choi Hee-ju, a buyer for the Homeplus PBGS (Private Brand & Global Sourcing) Food Team.

Choi Hee-joo, buyer of the PBGS Food Team at Homeplus, is introducing the Homeplus Signature PB frozen pizza.
[Photo by Homeplus].

Buyer Choi planned the 'extreme cost-effectiveness' product, the Homeplus Signature PB frozen pizza series of three types, known as 'half-price pizza,' achieving success beyond expectations. While franchise pizza prices generally hover around 30,000 won, they emphasized that consumers could enjoy it comfortably and without burden at prices ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 won, which drew consumer responses. During this month's half-price event, 80,000 units were sold out in just seven days. The cumulative sales from last year to this month reached 300,000 units. Since its launch, it has remained the undisputed number one in the frozen pizza category. He said, "Customer perception of frozen food has improved since COVID-19, increasing preference, and the frozen food market continues to grow, so I was confident it would 'work,'" adding, "all three types?four-cheese, mozzarella, and mushroom pizzas?use high-quality European cheeses and thin, crispy dough, paying close attention to quality."

Above all, price was crucial. Buyer Choi said, "We secured production lines by providing annual expected volumes to partners, and continuously worked behind the scenes to lower unit costs by sharing order quantities and timing," adding, "At the same time, to find the optimal pizza suited to domestic consumers' tastes, we conducted dozens of sample tests and held endless video meetings to focus on product research, ensuring quality was not compromised." For the mozzarella pizza, they added basil and tomato toppings until the very end to reduce greasiness and achieve the optimal taste.

On the other hand, they also focused on 'unique food experiences.' Last month, they secured an exclusive contract for the 'exotic specialty' Iceland desserts at the newly renovated Busan Centum City store. These include Millionaire Cheesecake, Strawberry Gatto, Chocolate Gatto, Eclair, and Profiterole, whose exotic names and new flavors attracted consumer attention. Although these products are still unfamiliar to domestic consumers, the Busan Centum City store achieved sales of 1 million won in just one week after opening. Buyer Choi said, "I wanted to introduce unique products that could only be found at Homeplus, not the usual items available at any supermarket, so I continuously conducted market research worldwide, through which I discovered the UK frozen food specialist distributor 'Iceland.'" He added, "They have a wide and deep frozen product lineup, and private brand (PB) products account for 75% of their total sales, indicating a high PB level, so I really wanted to introduce them to domestic customers." Buyer Choi plans to expand not only Iceland's own PB products but also Homeplus collaboration products.

Buyer Choi said, "We will launch products that customers who are serious about food truly want," adding, "In the future, I want to continue discovering delicious products hidden around the world and bring newness and joy to Homeplus customers, not only with 'God-level cost-effective' products but also with unique flavors."

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