Kim Dong-seon's 'Food and Beverage Business' Accelerates... Hanwha Foodtech Opens R&D Center

Launch Work Scheduled for 'Stella Pizza' Introducing Robots

Hanwha Foodtech announced on the 22nd that it has opened a research and development (R&D) center in Pangyo. Hanwha Foodtech is a food solution company under Hanwha Galleria, closely related to the food and beverage business led by Kim Dongseon, Vice President and Head of Strategy at Hanwha Galleria, who is the third son of Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group.

The newly opened R&D center aims to realize an "advanced restaurant" through kitchen automation. Accordingly, it plans to produce innovative content to lead the global foodtech market, including ▲providing cooking automation solutions incorporating robot technology ▲launching new brands and developing menus.

Seo Jong-hwi, CEO of Hanwha Robotics (from left), Kim Dong-seon, Vice President of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, and Lee Jong-seung, CEO of Hanwha Foodtech, are posing for a commemorative photo at the Hanwha Foodtech R&D Center, which opened on the 21st.

Since the core of the foodtech industry is to enhance work efficiency by integrating advanced technology into the food industry, the center was established near Pangyo, a high-tech industrial city where robot and IT-related companies gather. In particular, it plans various collaborations in the future, including utilizing collaborative robot technology with Hanwha Robotics, headquartered in Pangyo.

The R&D center covers a total area of 1,349㎡ (408 pyeong) and consists of laboratories, simulation rooms, a filming studio, and a foodtech showroom. In the research space, various technology integration tasks are underway aiming at kitchen automation such as modular system production. New menu development is also being carried out for existing brands including the recently introduced "PastaX," as well as "Dowon Style" and "Pavilion."

Preparations for launching the brand using robot technology of the American pizza brand "Stella Pizza," acquired by Hanwha Foodtech in February, are also expected to be conducted at this R&D center. Stella Pizza is a brand established in 2019 by engineers from SpaceX, a global aerospace company led by Elon Musk. It possesses world-class technology with a fully automated method where pizza dough aged at low temperature for 48 hours is cooked by robots.

The opening ceremony on the 21st was attended by Vice President Kim Dongseon, Hanwha Foodtech CEO Lee Jongseung, Hanwha Robotics CEO Seo Jonghui, and the R&D team. Vice President Kim said, “The success or failure of the food and beverage service industry in the future depends on the active utilization of foodtech,” adding, “We will ensure that various technologies born at the Hanwha Foodtech R&D center not only improve work efficiency but also contribute to the development of the food industry.”