Diversifying Ready Meals... Accelerating Segmentation Beyond Convenience [The World of Ready Meals]

Ready Meals Grown by COVID-19
Beyond Convenience and Affordability to Premiumization
Authentic Restaurant Menus... Diversification into Healthy Foods
Experts Say "Will Become Mainstream in Food Market"

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Eunmo Koo] The home meal replacement (HMR) market, which has grown exponentially through the COVID-19 tunnel, has transformed from the past concept of ‘just a quick meal’ to the concept of ‘a proper meal,’ leading a food culture trend focused on eating at home.

According to the ‘2021 Processed Food Consumer Attitude Survey’ recently released by the Korea Rural Economic Institute on the 20th, respondents who have experience purchasing convenience foods rated convenience the highest with a score of 4.11 out of 5, indicating the greatest satisfaction in this area. This was followed by variety (3.94 points) and taste (3.79 points).

In fact, convenience foods are showing trends toward health orientation and premiumization beyond the characteristics summarized as ‘convenience’ and ‘cost-effectiveness,’ and products are gradually diversifying. Pulmuone launched the brand Bandut-hansik, specializing in soups, stews, and broths, in October last year and introduced 10 new products. CJ CheilJedang is also expanding its product categories by releasing three types of ‘Bibigo Jinkuk Broth,’ which can be used as cooking base stock, following products related to dumplings, Hetbahn (instant cooked rice), and Western-style convenience food brand Gourmet. Daesang has successively launched ‘Yasigiya’ and ‘Baro eat Anjuya,’ specialized in late-night snacks, following its representative convenience food brand ‘Anjuya’ under the Cheongjeongwon brand, and is expanding its main dish lineup centered on the convenience food brand ‘Homings,’ launched in May last year, which advocates ‘a proper meal.’

‘Ready meals’ that allow you to simply heat and eat menus from famous restaurant chains or local popular eateries are also gaining popularity. Fresh Easy recently introduced three types of ‘Yeontabal Meal Kits,’ which bring the menu of the beef large intestine specialty restaurant ‘Yeontabal’ as is, and three types of ‘Yeongyeong Chinese Meal Kits,’ which allow you to enjoy the signature dishes of the famous Chinese restaurant ‘Yeongyeong’ in Incheon Chinatown at home. They also launched a subscription service that regularly delivers menus from famous restaurants nationwide.

With growing interest in health and immunity due to COVID-19, attention to ‘vegan HMR’ and ‘medi meal (healthy meal plans)’ is also increasing. Pulmuone is expanding its vegan product line by sequentially releasing vegan convenience foods such as vegan ramen, dumplings, and frozen rice. CJ CheilJedang’s ‘The Bibigo’ and other healthy convenience foods that reduce sodium and cholesterol while containing balanced nutrients are also on the rise.

There are also cases of launching customized convenience foods in collaboration with other fields related to cooking, such as home appliances. Previously, CJ Foodville’s VIPS introduced a bespoke cooker-exclusive meal kit in collaboration with Samsung Electronics, and Shilla Hotel also consecutively launched related products such as the cooker-exclusive meal kit ‘Shilla Dining at Home.’

Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies said, “The convenience food market is expected to continue growing and establish itself as a mainstream in the food market. The quality of convenience foods has significantly improved through research and development and investment, and with advantages such as efficiency and economy, this high growth is expected to continue.”