J-Hope Praises Kurly's 'Lasagna'... A Game Changer at 67 [Interview]

Interview with Juhwan Kim, CEO of Tombola
Italian Restaurant Established in Seorae Village
Started Restaurant Meal Replacement (RMR) Business in 2018
Sales Continue to Rise Through Synergy with Kurly

"Tombola was successful enough to receive the 'Blue Ribbon' every year, but I always felt uneasy. I entered the ready meal business at a late age, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, sales increased to the point where they now surpass the restaurant's revenue."

Juhwan Kim, CEO of Tombola, stated this in a recent interview with Asia Economy at the Tombola store in Seocho-gu, Seoul. He said, "Starting the restaurant meal replacement (RMR) business through Kurly was a game changer."

Juhwan Kim, CEO of Tombola, is explaining the background of starting the ready meal business. Photo by Minji Lee.

Tombola is an Italian restaurant that has been in the same location in Seorae Village, Banpo, since March 2003, maintaining its presence for over 20 years. By focusing on authentic Italian home-style cuisine, Tombola has consistently been listed in the domestic gourmet guidebook 'Blue Ribbon' from 2011 to this year. In 2011, it was also selected for the Michelin Green Guide. Its signature dishes are freshly baked 'wood-fired pizza,' 'lasagna,' and 'pasta.' Given its long history, a significant portion of its customers are older residents from the neighborhood.

Kim, who was running the restaurant, decided to enter the ready meal manufacturing business after hearing news of nearby restaurants closing down. From 2014 to 2015, a series of socially grim events, including the MERS outbreak, dampened consumer sentiment, and the food service industry was hit particularly hard. Witnessing even long-established Chinese restaurants struggle, Kim began to think, "One day, I might have to close my doors too."

After years of deliberation, Kim concluded that the answer was to start a frozen ready meal business. His plan was to commercialize lasagna, the dish he was most confident in, so that consumers could easily enjoy it at home. The platform he encountered at this time was Market Kurly. Kim said, "At that time, Market Kurly was just beginning to expand ready meal offerings from renowned restaurants nationwide. I didn't even know what dawn delivery was, but I was attracted by the idea that if I made the product, the platform would handle the sales." At that time, Kim was 67 years old.

Inside view of the Tombola manufacturing factory located in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. An employee is making lasagna using rag? sauce aged for one day. Photo by Minji Lee.

The beginning was not smooth. The first challenge was recovering the lost 'taste.' The key to lasagna is the rag? sauce, made from a blend of various ingredients. Although Kim had been simmering rag? sauce in the kitchen for over 20 years, it was difficult to achieve the same flavor after freezing and reheating. Kim converted a banquet hall on the third floor of the same building into a small manufacturing facility and spent four months locked in the factory searching for the right taste. Kim confessed, "I tested hundreds of times, using ingredients I had never tried before. The smell of rag? permeated my whole body to the point that my daughter avoided me."

In November 2019, Kim launched three types of lasagna (Bolognese, shrimp, spinach) through Kurly. However, he was not able to sell large quantities from the start. Only 60 lasagnas were produced in the first batch. This was the second challenge. Kim and two or three restaurant employees handled every step, from stirring the sauce to layering the pasta and packaging the lasagna. Since they had never used production equipment before, they did not know how to improve efficiency, and hiring new staff at the start of the business felt burdensome. Kim also insisted that food should be made by hand.

Inside view of the Tombola manufacturing factory located in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. Rag? sauce is boiling under the agitator. Photo by Minji Lee.

Kim explained, "Automating the process could improve efficiency, but I am still not convinced that it would produce the same good taste. Even now, we do everything by hand, but we have improved productivity by appropriately using equipment like agitators." Currently, Tombola's factory is located in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. In 2020, with the addition of four types of pizza and two types of gnocchi, they moved to a larger factory. The number of staff increased to 5 or 6, and with more cooking stations, daily production capacity grew to about 400 lasagnas and 200 pizzas.

Sales of Tombola ready meals on Kurly have been steadily increasing every year. Recently, interest grew even further when BTS member J-Hope and Kurly CEO Kim Seula named Tombola's Bolognese lasagna as a must-have product in their refrigerators. J-Hope praised, "I usually eat a lot of Bolognese at hotels, and Tombola's lasagna tastes the same." As a result, from March to June this year, the sales growth rate approached 80% compared to the same period last year.

Kim said, "As word of mouth spread, young customers who first tried Tombola through ready meals are now visiting the store in person. Soon, we plan to launch a tofu-based Bolognese lasagna through Kurly."