[Power K-Women] "Don't Be Afraid" The Message That Awakened Me... CEO Min Geum-chae

Tears at Resignation After 'Baemin Cook' Business Closure
B-Grade Agricultural Products Used by Food Tech Startup
Entering US Market with Alternative Meat from Surplus Grains
Homeroom Teacher Who Paid First Semester Tuition
Chairman Kim Bong-jin's Great Support in Hard Times
When I Generously Share What I Received

Editor's NoteAsia Economy selected 40 women from various fields at home and abroad as 'Power K-Women' at the ‘2022 Women Leaders Forum’ held on October 19. These women leaders have faced all kinds of barriers and boundaries such as gender, race, disability, and poverty, yet they did not yield to them but broke or transcended these boundaries to create new and universal values. Their stories will offer comfort to a weary world, become role models for someone, and give communities the strength to move forward again.

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] "CEO, I think this is where I have to stop."

In May 2017, Min Geum-chae, Senior Manager, and Kim Bong-jin, Chairman of Woowa Brothers, cried together over a pot of Dongtae Jjigae (pollack stew). Woowa Brothers, which had risen as a startup success story with the ‘Baedal Minjok’ (Baemin) service, decided to discontinue their ambitious meal kit business ‘Baemin Cook’. Min, who led this service, could not overcome the sense of loss from the early termination and resigned. Although Chairman Kim tried to persuade him until the end, it was difficult to change his mind.

Two months later, Min founded the food tech startup ‘Jiguin Company’. Meeting Min Geum-chae, CEO of Jiguin Company (43), at their office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, she recalled the tearful resignation and said with a shy smile, "After running a startup myself, I now understand why the company made that decision." She added, "At that time, as the person in charge, I had too much affection for the service to fully accept its discontinuation," and recalled, "It was my service, so I felt I had to see it through until I gave up."

Jiguin Company took its first step in July 2017 as a food tech startup making plant-based foods using ‘ugly agricultural products’. Min said, "While purchasing ingredients for the Baemin Cook meal kit business, I realized there was a huge loss of agricultural product inventory," adding, "Although the meal kit business was not intended for ugly agricultural products, we tried to incorporate ugly food into the products, and that process was very enjoyable."

Leaving the most successful startup, Min personally visited about 100 farms over two months to visually check the inventory of ‘B-grade agricultural products’. Although this was her best effort in a short time, considering there are over 50,000 farms nationwide, it was not sufficient market research. It was also difficult to find inventory or distribution data on B-grade agricultural products from the government or related public institutions. She said, "It was most important to see for myself and judge that ‘this problem is worth solving’," and added, "When I could identify the problem with inventory agricultural products and felt there was social value in solving it in my own way, I gained confidence in the business."

The first product launched was canned plums. Fortunately, the market response was not bad, and due to the nature of agricultural products, new products were developed and released about every two months to quickly deplete inventory after launch. For about a year, products made from ugly agricultural products were sold, and among the 53 farms Jiguin Company traded with at the time, 16 emptied their inventory warehouses. Then word of mouth began to spread seriously among farms. Since B-grade agricultural products with low marketability were a headache for farms, rumors that ‘they sell inventory’ spread, and farms that Min had not contacted first reached out to her.

However, the items were unexpected. Jiguin Company mainly launched products using vegetables and fruits, but the items farms requested to dispose of were rice, beans, and grains. Min said, "They asked me to sell old rice, so I put it on the market, but I received a lot of criticism like ‘Why are you selling trash that smells so bad?’" She added, "I thought grains shouldn’t be sold as inventory, so I processed them into misutgaru (grain powder), smoothies, yogurt, etc., but all failed and were discarded." This was the first and biggest crisis she faced after starting the business.

While pondering how to use leftover grains, Min found a clue at the ‘Impossible Burger’ she happened to encounter during a conference visit to San Francisco, USA. The plant-based meat burger was recognized in the US market, the home of fast food. Jiguin Company’s flagship product ‘UNLIMEAT’ started from there.

It took about two more years for UNLIMEAT to come to market. Unlike products processed from ugly agricultural products, plant-based meat is not something that can be launched immediately after deciding to commercialize. Min recalled, "Not knowing how much time and money would be needed for alternative meat R&D, I spent all the money earned from ugly agricultural products on UNLIMEAT R&D," adding, "Only after about two years of R&D was the basic technology barely established." She added, "It was still insufficient, so I worked part-time jobs at dawn and on weekends and barely received the first investment of about 500 million won."

UNLIMEAT still uses about 10% leftover grains in its content to continue Jiguin Company’s founding spirit and mission. They launched not only alternative meat used in various processed foods but also slice products for direct grilling. Additionally, to enter the US market, they established a local branch in February and recently secured nationwide retail channel entry in the US. UNLIMEAT products will be sold across the US starting January next year. Min said with a bright smile, "The vegan market in the US is large, and many products like hamburger patties and sausages have already been launched. UNLIMEAT differentiated itself by selling ‘K-Food’ style slices like bulgogi, and fortunately, opportunities have been well created in the US. This is the happiest recent news."

Like startups that face tough challenges every moment, Min’s path was far from smooth. Her father was fired from his job in 1998 due to the aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis. As the family’s financial situation rapidly declined to the point they couldn’t pay tuition, Min gave up on entering university. Instead, she worked as a secretary at a law firm to earn money. Her high school senior homeroom teacher, feeling sorry for a student who gave up studies due to money, personally wrote an application for night college admission and persuaded her, paying the first semester tuition with the promise, ‘If you have the means later, take the college entrance exam again and go to a four-year university.’

As promised, Min graduated from university and started her career as an entertainment reporter for a magazine. She then worked at Kakao and Woowa Brothers. Although these companies are now considered representatives of ‘successful startups,’ at the time they were struggling with launching and failing various new services. The experiences and people she met then became valuable assets in her life as a founder. Especially, Kim Bong-jin of Woowa Brothers is a role model she admires. She still receives advice from him on startup management strategies and branding philosophy.

Min revealed, "When visiting farms or manufacturing plants, many middle-aged people in their 50s and 60s often looked down on me just because I’m a woman," adding, "I heard many remarks like ‘If you shake your hips once, I’ll give you 100 won off per kilogram’ or ‘Miss, pour me a glass of Makgeolli,’ which made me feel ashamed and hurt my pride." She recalled, "In the early days of the business, I chased investors wanting to get funding but was rejected by about 30 places, and I was mentally and physically exhausted working part-time jobs because I needed money immediately."

Then one day around 5 a.m., she suddenly received a text from Chairman Kim. A short message: ‘Don’t be scared.’ She said she burst into tears as soon as she saw the message. Min said, "Sometimes when running a business, there are many moments when you feel very exhausted and literally ‘scared’," adding, "That phrase was really comforting at that time, and I still sometimes whisper it to myself: ‘Don’t be scared, you can do it, you’ve endured this far, so let’s try a little more.’" When Min was about to leave her company in 2017, Chairman Kim promised, ‘I owe you, so use me as a hidden card someday.’ About four years later, last year, he kept that promise by investing in Jiguin Company.

Min said with a smile, "I can’t say I’ve ‘succeeded’ yet, but when I see people just starting startups, they are going through the same trial and error I experienced, so it feels like I’m seeing my past self," adding, "Now it’s time to generously share and repay what I received."

Profile of Min Geum-chae, CEO of Jiguin Company

▲ Born 1979 ▲ 2003?2006 Entertainment reporter, Women Chosun ▲ 2007?2012 Reporter/Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) team marketing manager, Women JoongAng ▲ 2012?2015 Marketing manager, KakaoTalk ▲ 2015?2017 Head of ‘Baemin Cook’ business unit, Woowa Brothers ▲ 2017 Founded food tech startup ‘Jiguin Company’ ▲ 2019 Launched plant-based alternative meat brand ‘UNLIMEAT’