[AI Revolution](100) Meatbox Growing 20% Annually... Launching 'Data Platform' Business

Interview with Data Expert Jaesung Lee, Executive Director
Smartening Livestock Industry with Data Provision
"Building an Environment for Smart Business"

Lee Jae-sung, Executive Director of Meatbox Data Biz Division, is explaining the data platform business in an interview with Asia Economy. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The livestock direct transaction platform ‘Meatbox’ is gaining attention by digitizing the traditionally analog field of livestock farming. Despite the economic downturn, it has been showing an annual sales growth rate of over 20%. The main customers are restaurant and butcher shop owners, who benefit from reduced distribution costs that eliminate price bubbles. Thanks to a distribution structure where customers can select the desired cuts and quantities on the Meatbox platform and simply press the delivery button to receive their order the next day, the platform has grown significantly. The number of restaurants registered with Meatbox nationwide is 52,000, butcher shops number 5,600, and other distribution members including food material and pet industries total around 6,800. Monthly transaction volume has surpassed 40 billion KRW.

This Company That Used to Grill Meat Now Cooks Data

Meatbox’s headquarters, located in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, has a unique characteristic not found in other companies: the smell of grilled meat never fades. To supply affordable and delicious meat, employees personally grill the meat at the company to taste it. On the second floor of the building, there is a studio and kitchen for product photography, and the rooftop features a spacious barbecue area. There is even a meat vending machine selling 200g of samgyeopsal (pork belly) for just 1,000 KRW for the employees.

Along with the smell of grilled meat, the company is expected to soon carry the scent of cooking data. This is because they are promoting a data platform business that processes domestic and international data related to the livestock industry and provides it to customers. To this end, last year they recruited a top expert in the data industry who is second to none. This is Executive Director Jaesung Lee, who heads the Data Business Division. Director Lee has built expertise in the data platform field over more than 20 years working in digital services at Cafe24, 11st, SK Planet, GS Retail, and others. He was an early member involved in widely known digital projects such as the membership app Syrup and the subscription service ‘T Universe Pass.’

Introducing the Data Platform... The Era of AI-Driven Business is Coming

The livestock data platform, led by Director Lee, is scheduled for official launch next month. In a recent interview with Asia Economy, he said, "Until now, livestock industry workers have relied on ‘gut feeling’ to run their businesses, but now we want to create an environment where they can work smartly based on data." Utilizing the various data accumulated over 10 years by Meatbox and continuously collected daily, they plan to introduce a platform tailored to customer needs. He added, "We are focusing on visualizing complex numbers simply and clearly," and "Our primary target is large distribution companies that have relatively strong capital and high demand for data."

Through the data platform, users can determine the most advantageous time to order meat by analyzing factors affecting livestock market prices such as international grain prices, exchange rates, and slaughter volume trends. They can also gain insights into where and what kind of meat competitors in similar industries are ordering. The platform will be further enhanced to quickly detect unexpected situations like the Korean beef crisis using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, enabling merchants to devise countermeasures.

His ultimate goal is to allow customers to focus solely on their business. For restaurant owners, if AI can accurately predict the daily quantity needed for operation, there will be no need to post signs saying, ‘We are closing early because all prepared quantities have been sold out.’ Director Lee stated, "The value of data depends on how it is utilized," and promised, "We will prove that data can be turned into money."

A meat vending machine located at Meatbox headquarters. Employees can purchase 200g of samgyeopsal for 1,000 won. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@