The "single serving" menu has emerged as a major trend in the delivery market. This shift has been driven by the introduction of services on major platforms that have eliminated the minimum order amount, which had previously been a barrier to single serving orders. As a result, competition to capture the growing demand for single servings is intensifying. Industry leaders such as Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats have rolled up their sleeves to differentiate their services.

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According to a recent survey conducted by Baedal Minjok on August 13, 2025, targeting 712 customers who use the service at least once a week, 38.5% of users said that the availability of single serving menus is the most important factor when choosing a restaurant on a delivery application. In the same survey, more than half of respondents (53.1%) said they had ordered from a single serving menu before, and among them, 82.7% reported being satisfied. Additionally, 47.3% said they would use their favorite restaurant more often if it introduced a new single serving menu. This indicates that the ability to order single servings has become a major factor influencing users' choice of delivery restaurants.

The rise of single serving orders, which had previously not been widely adopted, began when Baedal Minjok launched its "Hangureut" service at the end of April 2025, eliminating the minimum order requirement. This service allows customers to order a single serving without having to add extra items, streamlining the ordering process and increasing convenience. The popularity of this service is evident, with orders increasing nearly twelvefold six weeks after launch compared to the first week. Restaurants that started offering the Hangureut menu saw their order volume increase by 36% and sales rise by 21% within just one week.

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As the success of Baemin's Hangureut service became clear, Coupang Eats, the industry's second-largest player, officially launched its own single serving-focused service in early August 2025. The company transitioned its "Free Delivery for Just One Item" program, which had previously been available only as a pilot in select areas, into a full-fledged service and is currently running a delivery fee support promotion. For Coupang Wow members, there is no minimum order requirement, and the platform has been designed so that users can easily browse and order single serving menus with free delivery.

This intensifying competition around single servings on delivery platforms is closely linked to the increase in single-person households, and the growing demand for solo dining has become a revenue source that restaurants can no longer ignore. As of last year, there were 8.04 million single-person households in Korea, accounting for 36.1% of all households. Projections suggest that by 2032, this figure will reach 40%. According to sample data from 170,000 food service businesses surveyed by NICE Jini Data, only 9.6% of restaurants in Korea offered single serving menus as of January 2024, but this figure had risen to 10.4% by March 2025. The sales of single serving menu items also increased by approximately 52% from January to December 2023. An industry insider commented, "The biggest challenge for restaurants serving single diners is table turnover, but this concern is less relevant in the delivery market," adding, "Sales of single serving and Hangureut menus via delivery are expected to continue growing in the future."