Promising "Unique Dessert" Industry Designated for Small Businesses
10 Local Small Businesses Selected for Marketing Support
Three Categories: Local, Global, and Neighborhood Signature Desserts
Busan City is searching for desserts with flavors "never experienced before."
Busan City (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) and the Busan Economic Promotion Agency announced on the 17th that they have designated "unique desserts" as this year's promising industry for small businesses. They will select 10 local small businesses in this sector and support them with joint and specialized marketing.
The 2025 Promising Industry Joint and Specialized Marketing Support Project aims to discover and select promising industries for small businesses, support their online and offline marketing, and foster the growth of these industries to cultivate regional specialty brands. This project has been underway since 2017 to nurture representative brands of Busan.
Since craft beer was first selected as a promising industry in 2017, the following have also been chosen: paddle boards (2018), Busan Kkomjangeo (2019), specialty cafes (2020), cafes (2021), handmade pet treats (2022), the entire pet industry (2023), and unique desserts (2024).
This year's promising industry, unique desserts, is rapidly growing nationwide, driven by the trends of the MZ generation, which leads current consumer trends. Busan City has selected this industry as a promising sector for the second consecutive year through the Industry Selection Committee, and will continue to foster it intensively in its second year.
Last year, marketing support was provided to 10 unique dessert businesses, resulting in an average sales increase of 22% per company. Looking at individual company growth: "Montbell Shelter" became a popular spot with long waiting lines, driving growth in the local commercial district and recently opening its third branch. "Hey Plot" achieved 50% of its sales online, successfully pioneering new sales channels. Additionally, several companies were featured in the media as promising small businesses, successfully scaling up their operations.
This year, the support areas have been subdivided to select a total of 10 companies in three categories: "local desserts" featuring ingredients and stories from Busan, "global desserts" showcasing traditions and characteristics from around the world, and "neighborhood signature desserts" known for their creative ideas and outstanding flavors in local communities. These companies will receive intensive support for growth.
Busan City will provide selected companies with customized specialized marketing support of up to 7 million KRW per business, including design brand improvement and exhibition participation. In addition, joint marketing to revitalize the industry, such as online marketing and flea markets, will also be supported.
Applications can be submitted from the 17th until April 30th through the Small Business Comprehensive Support Center website. Afterwards, Busan City will select 10 unique dessert businesses in the region through a selection committee composed of experts in each field and provide support.
For more details, refer to the Small Business Comprehensive Support Center website or contact the Busan Economic Promotion Agency.
Kim Bongcheol, Director of the Busan City Digital Economy Office, said, "We expect that the unique dessert support project, now in its second year, will help the dessert industry establish itself as a representative brand of Busan, invigorate the industry, and increase the sales of local small businesses," and called for the interest of small business owners.
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