"Pay by Weight" Chorokmaeul Introduces 'Honest Payment' System

Fresh Foods with Different Weights Like Cabbage, Potatoes, and Pork
Fair Pricing Policy Creates a 'Win-Win' for Consumers and Sellers

Chorokmaeul announced on the 29th that it has established an ‘Honest Payment’ system that pays prices equal to the actual value of products and will introduce it to about 360 offline stores nationwide.

The newly introduced Honest Payment is a charging method linked to the actual weight and consumer price of individual products, applied to some fresh products with weight differences per item such as potatoes, cabbage, bananas, and antibiotic-free domestic refrigerated pork. These products have prices determined according to weight at the production stage, after which individual labels are attached and supplied to stores nationwide. There is no need to display products in bulk form or use separate scales in stores, and consumers can immediately check the price of each product.

The company expects that by introducing Honest Payment, consumers will have the option to choose based on weight and price differences, and sellers can receive fair prices without losses, creating a ‘win-win’ effect. Previously, even if the raw material weights varied, all product prices had to be sold based on the minimum weight standard, and consumers had to pay the same price for products of different sizes.

Since last summer, Chorokmaeul has been piloting Honest Payment products mainly at directly managed stores to verify its effectiveness. Customer satisfaction and operational efficiency improved without major changes to store operations, and especially for products with large weight variations, positive feedback continued. Based on these pilot results, Honest Payment will be expanded to franchise stores.

Honest Payment was inspired by the parent company Jeongyookgak’s patented technology ‘Fresh Pay’ system. Jeongyookgak has been operating since the opening of its online mall in 2016 with a policy of charging according to the actual weight of ultra-fresh livestock and seafood products. This extends the D2C (direct-to-consumer) manufacturing capability, which directly manufactures and supplies fresh food in a smart factory, to the offline sector.

The product categories to which Honest Payment applies will be rapidly expanded, focusing on fresh products where customer preferences for size and weight differ. In February, activities to raise customer awareness will be conducted, with Jeju new potatoes and paprika among the targeted items.

Jeon Jae-hoon, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Chorokmaeul, said, “Honest Payment is Chorokmaeul’s transparent and fair system that allows customers to purchase high-quality eco-friendly food reasonably,” adding, “Through our customer-first policy, we will create a virtuous cycle in the eco-friendly and organic distribution market.”