Catch the MZ Generation... Food Industry Flooded with New Product Launches via Funding

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Cases of launching new products through crowd funding are increasing in the food industry. This allows companies to gauge consumer reactions to products in advance and achieve effective promotional effects targeting the MZ generation. Funding involves selling a specific quantity of products before the official launch, enabling companies to incorporate customer feedback into the official release. Recently, crowd funding platforms have enabled detailed 'curation' explaining the product planning and production process, which resonates with the MZ generation who enjoy value consumption based on their beliefs, thereby increasing consumer touchpoints.

According to the industry on the 6th, meal kit specialist MyChef is introducing two new meal kit products created in collaboration with the global sauce brand Lee Kum Kee through the crowd funding platform Wadiz. Lee Kum Kee, with over 130 years of history, offers sauce products favored by Michelin-star chefs and housewives alike. MyChef, which emphasizes 'optimal sauce ratios tailored to ingredients' as a principle in meal kit production, collaborated with Lee Kum Kee, which has extensive know-how in sauces, to launch 'Mala Beef Noodles' and 'Dandan Noodles.'

First, 'Mala Beef Noodles' enhances the broth flavor by adding beef, bok choy, and bean sprouts to Lee Kum Kee's Mala Beef Noodles sauce. 'Dandan Noodles' also brings out spiciness with Lee Kum Kee's Sichuan Dandan Noodles sauce and chili oil-fried pork, completing a deep broth flavor with beef bone broth and savory peanut butter.

Nongshim also conducted funding for 'Simplet,' a future-oriented ingredient developed by Nongshim's in-house venture team, through Wadiz. Simplet is a shelf-stable ingredient processed by drying the raw material as is. In line with the spread of home-cooked meal culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it targets single-person households under the concept of 'easy one-meal cooking.' The funding was conducted twice; the first round in June reached its target amount in 20 minutes, and the encore funding in September also exceeded its goal, attracting attention.

Maeil Dairies' soy milk brand Maeil Soymilk launched a new product, 'Maeil Soymilk Dietary Fiber Low Sugar,' on June 1st through Kakao Commerce's made-to-order platform Kakao Makers. Maeil Soymilk Dietary Fiber Low Sugar contains 6g of plant-based protein, equivalent to about one egg per 190ml pack, and 6.2g of soluble dietary fiber, which is 25% of the daily recommended intake. It offers a savory injeolmi (Korean rice cake) flavor made from five grains, but with only 2g of sugar, which is 80% less than the existing 'Maeil Soymilk Dietary Fiber.'

Ottogi also pre-released 'Gogiri Perilla Oil Makguksu,' which gained great popularity through collaboration with the famous restaurant Gogiri Makguksu, on Kakao Makers and received its first orders. Perilla Oil Makguksu, a popular menu item at Gogiri Makguksu located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is a dish where freshly made buckwheat noodles are mixed with savory and fragrant perilla oil and soy sauce, served with sesame seeds and seaweed. 'Gogiri Perilla Oil Makguksu' sold out 10,000 sets prepared within 3 hours on Kakao Makers in May.