Subscription Service with Dawn Delivery... Department Stores and Marts Transform into Side Dish Shops

Emart Osak Bapsang Expands to 33 Stores
SSG.com Dawn Delivery Up 133% ... Costs Down, Taste and Quality Guaranteed

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As dining out has decreased due to COVID-19 and demand for ‘home-cooked meals’ has increased with remote work and online classes, the side dish market centered on Korean cuisine is expanding. Instead of small side dish stores located in residential areas or apartment shopping centers, various side dish specialty brands have entered department stores and large supermarkets, attracting more customers. The perception that it saves cost and effort compared to cooking at home is spreading mainly among single-person households and young people in their 20s and 30s, and the consistent guarantee of taste and quality is also cited as a reason for its popularity.

Side Dish Stores Gaining Attention in the Era of Convenience Foods

Emart first introduced the side dish store ‘Osaek Bapsang’ at its Gimpo Hangang branch in April 2019, and after receiving positive responses from customers, expanded the number of stores to 33 last year.

Osaek Bapsang is a side dish corner within the supermarket that sells about 70 types of various side dishes, including premium side dishes, basic side dishes, and anju (drinking snacks), reflecting the segmented tastes of customers. Thanks to differentiation by offering not only basic side dishes like kimchi and salted seafood and soups but also cooked side dishes such as Mun-eo Samhap (octopus three combination) and Ggan-sho Shrimp, side dish sales at Emart stores with Osaek Bapsang increased by about 15-20% compared to the previous year last year.

SSG.com’s dawn delivery side dish sales also increased by 133% from July to December last year compared to the same period the previous year. After COVID-19, as online grocery shopping became popular and side dish purchases increased mainly among dual-income couples and single-person households, side dish brands such as ‘Gangnam Bapsang’, ‘Jeong Mi-kyung’s Four Seasons Side Dishes’, ‘Jingane Banchan’, and ‘The Banchan’ have seen more customers. For example, Gangnam Bapsang, newly launched in July last year, saw its December sales triple (210%) in just six months.

An Emart official said, "Side dishes that can be stored in the refrigerator for a relatively long time, such as dried shredded squid, jangjorim (soy-braised beef), burdock root braised, and walnut anchovy stir-fry, as well as namul (seasoned vegetable dishes) like chwinamul and sweet potato vine that require cumbersome preparation if cooked at home, are all very popular, and repurchase rates are high as customers tend to buy again."

Side Dishes Also Delivered Regularly

Hyundai Department Store’s side dish sales also increased by 10.2% compared to the previous year. In particular, the ‘Side Dish Subscription Delivery Service’ launched in August last year at 10 stores in the Gyeongin area, including Apgujeong Main Store, saw the number of customers more than double in December compared to the launch month (August).

The side dish subscription delivery is a ‘subscription service’ that regularly delivers products sold at side dish stores in the department store food halls, such as ‘Yehyang’, ‘Richanbang’, and ‘Yemichanbang’, once a week for a month. Side dishes cooked in the morning of the same day can be conveniently received at home using nearby delivery from the department store, and a 10-30% discount is offered compared to in-store prices. Hyundai Department Store plans to expand the service to regional stores such as Chungcheong, Daegu, Ulsan, Dong-gu, and Busan in the first half of this year.

A Hyundai Department Store official said, "The strengthening of social distancing has increased cases where all meals must be eaten at home, leading to increased demand for side dish sales due to changes in consumers’ eating habits. The expansion of meal kits and home meal replacement (HMR) markets, which are easy to cook, seems to have also influenced the increase in sales of side dish products that can be eaten immediately without any cooking."