‘Foodtech’ Seolroin, Series B Bridge Investment Fundraising 추진

Raising 5 Billion Won in Funding
Expecting Reflexive Gains Amid Competitor ‘Jeongyukgak’ Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Food tech company Seoloin (SIR.LOIN) is seeking investment. Attention is focused on whether it will smoothly secure external funds again this year, following last year.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 4th, Seoloin is pursuing a Series B bridge round investment of 5 billion KRW. It is securing funds at the same valuation as the previous Series B. It is holding investor relations (IR) meetings mainly with venture capital (VC) firms.

Earlier, Seoloin succeeded in raising 40 billion KRW in Series B investment in February last year. At that time, KDB Industrial Bank invested 31 billion KRW through a combined loan and investment financing method. Existing investors such as Hana Ventures and Donghoon Investment also followed on with additional investments. In particular, Hana Ventures has continuously participated from the early stages after Seoloin’s establishment up to this investment. There is keen interest in whether they will bet again this time. An IB industry insider said, “Seoloin is always mentioned together with Jeongyookgak,” adding, “As Jeongyookgak faces a crisis, Seoloin is receiving even more attention.”

The industry is paying attention to whether Seoloin will benefit from the spillover effect of its competitor Jeongyookgak. Founded in 2016, Jeongyookgak adopted a ‘super fresh meat’ sales strategy distributing fresh livestock and seafood products such as pork within 4 days of slaughter and eggs on the day of laying. It also acquired Chorokmaeul, an eco-friendly distribution company of the Daesang Group, and opened a food specialty shop ‘Choshop,’ continuously trying new approaches and expanding its scale. However, its operating losses are increasing.

Seoloin and Jeongyookgak share the common denominator of distributing meat. Both adopt a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy. They reduce the typical livestock product distribution process of ‘farm-slaughterhouse-meat processing-wholesale-retail’ to supply high-quality meat directly to consumers.

Although the two companies have similar business models, their situations differ. Unlike Jeongyookgak, which suffers losses, Seoloin achieved its best-ever performance. Last year, Seoloin recorded a quarterly adjusted EBITDA profit, driven by the operation of a new factory and the highest quarterly sales ever.

Currently, Seoloin is exploring the acquisition of primary and secondary processors and SOHO brands to continue its growth. It also plans to expand its business sector beyond original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to original design manufacturing (ODM) based on its manufacturing and sales capabilities and the Smart Product Center (SPC), which enables systematic mass production.