[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] SPC Group announced on the 24th that it has signed a ‘win-win agreement for revitalizing agricultural product consumption’ with Nonsan City, Chungcheongnam-do, and will support local farmers in the Nonsan area.
This agreement is part of the ‘Happy Win-Win Project,’ which began in September last year to help local farmers struggling due to COVID-19, in line with SPC Group Chairman Huh Young-in’s philosophy of win-win management. It is the third project following support for potato farmers in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon-do, and carrot farmers in Gujwa, Jeju-do.
This project was planned to support Nonsan farmers who suffered losses due to COVID-19 blocking school meals and overseas sales channels, combined with heavy snow and cold waves.
SPC Group plans to purchase about 1,000 tons (t) of representative agricultural products from Nonsan farmers, including strawberries, tomatoes, and vegetables, and introduce various new products using these ingredients.
Strawberry varieties developed by the Nonsan Strawberry Research Institute, such as Seolhyang, Vitaberry, and Kingsberry, are characterized by high sweetness and rich juice. SPC Group plans to launch various bakery products using Nonsan strawberries, including the ‘Nonsan Fresh Strawberry Cake,’ at Paris Baguette stores nationwide, and will release items like ‘Strawberry Cobb Salad’ through its premium salad brand ‘Pig in the Garden.’
SPC Group will also actively support the development of new strawberry varieties. The new variety ‘Vitaberry,’ developed by the Nonsan Strawberry Research Institute, was developed for export due to its firmness, aroma, and sweetness, but has faced difficulties in overseas exports due to soaring air cargo fees caused by COVID-19. Accordingly, SPC Group’s researchers will collaborate with Nonsan City to breed ‘Vitaberry’ into a strawberry variety optimized for bakery use, promote its activation, and support the expansion of export channels.
An SPC Group official said, “The ‘Happy Win-Win Project’ is a CSV (Creating Shared Value) model where companies use our agricultural products to make high-quality products, customers participate in value consumption, and local farmers can coexist,” adding, “We will continue the win-win project this year to expand sales channels for our farmers and revitalize agricultural product consumption.”
Meanwhile, since 2012, SPC Group has signed MOUs with local farmers for products such as Yeongcheon mini apples, Uiseong garlic, and Gangjin paprika, releasing related products. In January 2014, it also signed the ‘Happy Co-Growth Agreement’ with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to purchase 1 trillion won worth of domestic agricultural and livestock products, continuously striving for coexistence with farmers.
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