Shinsegae Department Store Opens 'Shinsegae Farmers Market', a Win-Win Project with Young Farmers

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Youth farmers from rural areas across the country, including Sokcho, Hadong, and Haenam, are gathering at Shinsegae Department Store with agricultural and marine products.

Shinsegae Department Store announced on the 19th that starting from the Gyeonggi branch on the 17th of this month, it will hold the 'Shinsegae Farmers Market' at the main and Gangnam branches, showcasing specialty products from youth farmers nationwide all in one place.

Started in 2013 and now in its 8th year, the Shinsegae Farmers Market is Shinsegae Department Store's representative farm-win project. By facilitating direct transactions between food buyers and producers at the production sites, it boldly eliminated intermediate distribution margins. In the past three years, the event has achieved sales twice as high as planned.

Brands that receive favorable reviews during the event can officially enter Shinsegae Department Store. Representative examples include Gisundo Traditional Sauce, Masan Isulsongi Pine Mushrooms, and Haenam Dalsu Sweet Potatoes. In the case of Gisundo Traditional Sauce, after the Farmers Market, it entered 'Shinsegae Jangbang,' the industry's first traditional sauce curated store, in August 2014, recording a 16.5% sales growth rate within one year.

This year, 'The Farmer Market,' the official shopping mall of the rural platform 'Naver Farm,' recommends and Shinsegae Department Store buyers carefully select organic rice, fresh aloe, and five-colored cherry tomatoes. There will also be time for youth farmers to personally explain and sell their products to customers.

Additionally, excellent regional specialties carefully selected by Shinsegae Department Store buyers, such as Gimhae blueberries, Chungju apples, Sinan organic seaweed, Wando live abalone, and Seongsanpo hairtail, will be introduced.

Park In-ho, CEO of Jayeontuh, participating for the first time this year, said, “We have succeeded in cultivating the five-colored cherry tomatoes for the first time in Korea and developed fruit chips dried with heat to preserve nutrients as much as possible. We are excited to present these to offline customers.” He added, “Through the Farmers Market, we want to not only promote the excellence of local products but also meet more consumers and use this as an opportunity to start new sales channels.”

Choi Won-jun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, “The Shinsegae Farmers Market, which introduces excellent products from local farms and youth at reasonable prices, is Shinsegae's representative win-win project that satisfies distributors, producers, and customers alike.” He added, “We will continue to provide various support for youth farmers who face difficulties in securing sales channels.”