GS Retail, Recruiting Companies for 'Next Foodicon Season 2' Participation

GS Retail is recruiting companies to participate in the food startup discovery and nurturing program, 'Next Foodicon Season 2.'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] GS Retail announced on the 12th that it is recruiting companies to participate in the program ‘Next Foodicon Season 2,’ which discovers and nurtures food startups with the potential to become the next-generation unicorns.

Next Foodicon is a project aimed at growing local restaurants or small startup teams struggling due to the spread of COVID-19 and developing new products together. This time, the theme ‘In Search of JibGourmand’ has been selected, seeking teams that want to commercialize their signature menus or special recipes. JibGourmand is a compound word of ‘jib’ (home) and ‘Bib Gourmand,’ aiming to commercialize recipes from local restaurants or small startup teams to help them grow and deliver new flavors that customers can enjoy at home.

Applicants include ▲local restaurants or brands dreaming of scaling up ▲teams possessing recipes they want to commercialize ▲teams able to participate full-time in the 16-week product development program. Especially, restaurants with a loyal fan base, restaurants famous online, or food brands favored by the MZ generation will be given preference during the selection process.

Next Foodicon Season 2 is held in collaboration with ‘WeCook,’ an F&B business platform operator, and ‘Open the Table,’ a company specializing in home meal replacement (HMR) content. The five final selected local restaurants or small startup teams will be provided with WeCook’s F&B professional solutions and Open the Table’s manufacturer matching and product commercialization services.

Additionally, the five final selected teams will have the opportunity to showcase their products through various GS Retail distribution channels such as TV home shopping and online commerce GS Shop, convenience store GS25, and mobile shopping mall GS Fresh Mall. Local restaurants or small startup teams wishing to participate in Next Foodicon Season 2 can apply on the GS Retail website or WeCook website by the 8th of next month.

A GS Retail official said, “Next Foodicon is a program that pursues synergy between the innovative planning capabilities of various participants in the food industry and GS Retail’s differentiated distribution channels,” adding, “Since Season 2 focuses on planning new products that can be distributed directly through GS Retail channels, we ask for active participation from promising teams.”