GS Retail Acquires Food Startup 'Cookat' with 55 Billion KRW Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] GS Retail announced on the 13th that it will officially acquire the food startup company 'Cookat'.

In this acquisition, GS Retail will invest approximately 55 billion KRW, including the purchase of existing shares and issuance of new shares. Additionally, NH Investment & Securities PE Division (NH PE) will participate as a financial investor, investing about 30 billion KRW through new share issuance. GS Retail will become the largest shareholder of Cookat and incorporate Cookat as a subsidiary. Management will continue to be led by the current CEO, Moonju Lee.

GS Retail plans to promote ▲ opening GS25 and Cookat Market flagship stores ▲ expanding product categories beyond frozen goods ▲ planning and launching products optimized for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) ▲ joint research and development (R&D) and marketing activities. In the quick commerce sector, GS The Fresh will expand the frozen product storage function of its Micro Fulfillment Center (MFC), and establish mutual synergies through simultaneous sales via Yogiyo and Cookat Market. In the e-commerce sector, synergies are also expected through product category expansion based on GS Retail’s product sourcing capabilities and joint operation of existing online businesses and fulfillment centers.

In particular, GS Retail expects synergy effects between Cookat’s products targeting the MZ generation’s tastes and its 16,000 offline platforms. Previously, GS25 and GS The Fresh introduced signature products such as Strawberry Ssok Chapssaltteok through cooperation with Cookat in May and July last year, and these products gained great popularity, ranking first in the frozen dessert category.

Seonghwa Lee, Executive Director of GS Retail’s New Business Division, said, “This acquisition provides an important opportunity to bring 33 million global MZ generation customers to over 16,000 offline platforms,” adding, “We will strive to approach customers with more stylish and differentiated merchandise planning (MD).”