'Premium Salad' Gains Increasing Popularity... Food Service Industry Accelerates Business Expansion

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[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Recently, the phrase "salad instead of rice" has become popular, with salad establishing itself as a trendy food culture. Additionally, amid the relentless spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), more consumers are opting for delivery salads to enjoy a healthy and light meal. Accordingly, the dining industry is actively launching and expanding premium salad-related businesses.

According to the Global Big Data Research Institute on the 13th, analyzing big data from 220,000 sites across 12 channels including news, cafes, YouTube, blogs, Twitter, and Instagram from January 20, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed, to November 4, salad ranked as the second most popular food menu among Koreans.

Following this trend, Dongwon Home Food recently opened a delivery-only store of the premium salad specialty cafe "Crispy Fresh." After opening the first Crispy Fresh store near Hapjeong Station in May this year, Dongwon Home Food has now introduced its first offline store specializing in delivery. The Hapjeong store currently in operation has also recently started delivery services in the nearby area.

Dongwon Home Food opened "Crispy Fresh Delivery Seocho Branch," an offline store specializing in delivery, so customers can conveniently enjoy fresh premium salads anytime and anywhere, whether at home or work. Located in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, this store does not allow dine-in or takeout and accepts orders only through delivery apps such as Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, and Coupang Eats.

A Dongwon Home Food representative said, "To enable customers to enjoy salads conveniently anytime and anywhere, we plan to open 3 to 4 new stores in the metropolitan area by the first half of next year."

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CJ Foodville’s Italian bistro The Place has expanded its salad subscription service. The salad subscription service allows customers to pay a subscription fee and enjoy six types of chef-made salads over a month at up to 30% off the regular price.

The salads are composed of fresh vegetables and various ingredients to provide a balanced meal, offering six options to increase customer choice. The "Chicken Caesar Salad" includes tender chicken breast, eggs, potatoes, and croutons, while the "Beef Mushroom Salad" features stir-fried beef with mushrooms, Korean chili peppers (kkwarigochu), and red onions. The Place’s signature menu, "Ricotta Frutta Salad," is made fresh daily in-store using an Italian recipe with fresh ricotta cheese and seasonal fruits for a refreshing taste.

The salad subscription service operates not only at the previously piloted Seoul Square and Hapjeong Station locations but also at COEX Mall, Yeouido IFC Mall, and Yeongdeungpo Times Square. Customers can also order salads ? la carte without purchasing a subscription, and single orders can be placed through delivery apps such as Baemin Riders, Coupang Eats, and Yogiyo via the respective stores for delivery.

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Chaesundang has launched the lunchbox brand "Chaesundang Lunchbox & Salad" and is expanding its lunchbox business.

Chaesundang opened its first store, "Sangam DMC Branch," in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Chaesundang Lunchbox & Salad is a lunchbox carefully researched and developed by the Chaesundang R&D team. The main menu consists of five types of full-course lunchboxes with rice, soup, salad, and six side dishes (Jikhwa Full-course Lunchbox, Meat Full-course Lunchbox, Practical Full-course Lunchbox, Hearty Full-course Lunchbox, Specialty Full-course Lunchbox) and seven types of set lunchboxes with rice, soup, salad, and five side dishes (Soy Sauce Pork Lunchbox, Wagyu Tteokgalbi Lunchbox, Gochujang Pork Lunchbox, Sirloin Pork Cutlet Lunchbox, Dakgalbi Lunchbox, Beef Bulgogi Lunchbox, Stir-fried Squid Lunchbox).

Additionally, six types of convenient lunchboxes in "cup rice" form are available for easy meals and snacks (Chicken Mayo Rice Bowl, Tomato Chicken Rice Bowl, Tomato Shrimp Rice Bowl, Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice, Beef Brisket Radish Kimchi Fried Rice, Thistle Herb Rice). Notably, the brand is the first in the industry to introduce seven types of salad & poke bowls ideal for diet and healthy meals (Hawaiian Salmon Poke, Sweet Chili Shrimp Poke, Oriental Bulgogi Poke, Grilled Chicken Poke, Green Salad, Pumpkin Sweet Potato Salad, Chicken Breast Salad).

The biggest competitive advantage of Chaesundang Lunchbox & Salad is its cost-effectiveness. Catering to the Korean eating habit of having rice and soup together, both the "set lunchboxes" and "full-course lunchboxes" include soup, and lunchboxes with rice, soup, and salad start from the 7,000 KRW range. This contrasts with similar lunchboxes from well-known brands priced between 10,000 and 15,000 KRW. The salad specialty franchise "Salady" achieved a milestone by opening its 100th store on September 8, marking the first such case among domestic salad specialty franchise brands.

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