Franchise Partnerships... Expanding the 20 Trillion Won Corporate Meal Market

Jo Jeongho, CEO of Bendis, "We will continue various efforts to make meal times comfortable for office workers"

CEO Jo Jeong-ho

"It is most common for companies to support their employees' meal expenses as a form of welfare, and this expenditure is usually fixed." Jojungho, CEO of Vendis, focused on the size and potential of the corporate meal expense market. Considering the meal costs companies spend on employee welfare, this market is estimated to reach 20 trillion KRW annually. CEO Jo predicted that if the existing methods?such as paper meal tickets, meal ledgers, and corporate cards?were converted to a mobile application (app)-based system, the growth potential would be immense. His vision is becoming a reality. Launched in 2014 as Korea's first corporate meal management solution, 'Sikgwon Daejang' (Meal Ticket Manager) by Vendis is currently adopted by 390 companies nationwide. Last year, the total meal expenses transacted through Sikgwon Daejang amounted to 54.4 billion KRW, and CEO Jo has taken the first step to lead the transformation of the 20 trillion KRW corporate meal expense market.

On the 16th, CEO Jo said, "By connecting corporate meal expenses with franchise stores, Sikgwon Daejang enhances service quality, and franchise brands can expect stable new sales." Partnerships with franchise brands are an area where CEO Jo and Vendis have recently been focusing to capture the 20 trillion KRW corporate meal expense market. This strategy is expected to improve user satisfaction and secure nationwide stores as potential partner locations. This is why they signed a franchise partnership restaurant service supply agreement with Coffee Bean Korea last month. CEO Jo explained, "As coffee and desserts have become indispensable categories in office workers' dining culture, Sikgwon Daejang's partner stores are expanding to franchise cafe brands as well." Already, over 20 franchise brands, including McDonald's, KFC, and Taco Bell, have signed headquarters-level contracts with Sikgwon Daejang. CEO Jo stated, "We will quickly connect client companies with franchise stores, increase users' menu options, and improve service satisfaction."

Coffee Bean stores are using meal ticket ledgers.

CEO Jo explained that this strategy has led to remarkable results even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Korean McDonald's, which partnered in 2017, currently conducts corporate meal expense transactions through Sikgwon Daejang at over 30 stores nationwide, and employees of companies using Sikgwon Daejang visit McDonald's more frequently, positively impacting each store. Industry experts analyze that franchise brands will continue partnering with mobile meal ticket companies to generate new sales. Through mobile meal ticket transactions with nearby companies, they aim to secure fixed corporate meal expenses as sales. In a situation where consumer spending is sluggish due to the COVID-19 aftermath, corporate meal expenses are gaining attention as a new growth engine.

Based on this, CEO Jo has ambitions to lead innovation in the 20 trillion KRW corporate meal expense market. Currently, Sikgwon Daejang is used daily by about 79,000 office workers at approximately 3,600 partner stores. As of last year, the average meal expense provided by Sikgwon Daejang client companies per employee was 102,193 KRW per month. Considering that there are about 15 million workers in Korea, Vendis estimates that the market formed by companies subsidizing meal expenses for employee welfare reaches approximately 20 trillion KRW annually.

CEO Jo, who founded Vendis in 2014 after running the points service company 'SCV' in 2010 and the local mobile gift certificate company 'Broccoli Market' in 2012, has steadily developed this market as his third business item. Throughout this process, he has not hesitated to take on various challenges and attempts. In April, he partnered with robot solution specialist Robotis to apply Sikgwon Daejang's reservation payment to outdoor autonomous robots, conducting a pilot service for contactless robot lunch delivery. Recently, a simple payment function was also introduced to Sikgwon Daejang. CEO Jo emphasized, "We will continue to develop services to make payment more convenient for office workers," adding, "We will keep trying various initiatives to make office workers' meal times more pleasant by adding diverse food culture content and functions used from the moment they arrive at work, from three meals a day to snacks."