Lotte Launches Project to Secure 'Future Diet' Market

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group.

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Five Innovative Foodtech Startups in Alternative Food, Functional Food, and Food Medicine Specially Selected for Focused Commercialization Support
Shared Kitchen 'WeCook', Korea Agricultural Technology Foundation, and Lotte Food & Beverage Network Collaborate on 'Future Diet' Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] The valuation of startups nurtured through Lotte's startup incubating program 'L-Camp' has surpassed 1 trillion KRW in just five years, based on venture capital evaluations. Following the success of L-Camp, Lotte is concurrently advancing a project focused on fostering foodtech startups. Foodtech is a sector emphasized by Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, who highlighted the importance of actively incorporating external ideas during a meeting after his 2019 visit to Israel, a leading startup nation.

On the 29th, Lotte Accelerator announced that it will recruit the first cohort of 'Future Diet (未來食團)' until the 14th of next month to intensively nurture foodtech startups possessing innovative ideas and technologies related to food and beverages.

Future Diet, which will specially select more than five startups, is an expanded project of L-Camp. Startups in the food and foodtech sectors can apply to the Future Diet project under categories such as ▲Future Food (current food and beverage alternatives) ▲Medi Food (food medicine, functional foods) ▲Alternative Ingredients (solutions for ingredient supply and environmental issues) ▲Packaging (eco-friendly and sustainable packaging materials). L-Camp will also strengthen specialized programs tailored to each industry sector including global, hardware, and beauty.

Through the Future Diet project, Lotte plans to actively pursue connection development (C&D) with foodtech startups beyond large corporations’ research and development (R&D), aiming to lead the future food and beverage industry ecosystem.

To systematically support foodtech startups, Lotte Accelerator will jointly conduct the project with shared kitchen 'WeCook', the Korea Agricultural Technology Foundation, and Lotte Group’s food and beverage company network.

Startups selected for the Future Diet project will receive initial investments of over 50 million KRW, close support through dedicated managers for management diagnosis and commercialization consulting, office space support, and opportunities for follow-up investments. Lotte and WeCook plan to provide practical assistance throughout the entire process including product development, commercialization, branding, packaging, and logistics through their respective infrastructures.

Lotte Central Research Institute and food affiliates recognize the growth potential and importance of the plant-based alternative meat market and are engaging in the development of core technologies and product commercialization. After over two years of research and development with Lotte Central Research Institute, Lotte Foods launched the plant-based alternative meat brand 'Ennature Zeromeat' in 2019. Lotte GRS, which operates Lotteria, also released the industry's first plant-based burger last year. Distributors such as Lotte Mart and Korea Seven have been successively launching convenient meals based on soy meat.

A Lotte official stated, "We expect products classified under advanced foodtech to naturally appear on our tables in the near future, and we are accelerating related research and development. This project, which focuses on supporting foodtech startups and promoting open innovation, is anticipated to become a model collaboration between large corporations and startups."

Meanwhile, Lotte Accelerator revealed that the combined valuation of 119 startups from L-Camp cohorts 1 through 7 and Busan L-Camp cohorts 1 through 2 reached 1.0062 trillion KRW, approximately tripling compared to before their residency at L-Camp. The valuation of these 119 companies was 307 billion KRW before joining L-Camp but increased by about 700 billion KRW after receiving support and investment from Lotte Accelerator. During the same period, employment at these 119 companies also nearly doubled from 768 to 1,382 employees.