Full-Service Restaurants in South Korea

PROSPECTS

Asian full-service restaurants see strong growth, thank to increasing popularity of Chinese dining

Spicy flavours have been one of the big trends in the South Korean food industry, thus restaurants serving Asian-style spicy food have proved popular, particularly among younger consumers. The Chinese spicy sauce ma-la has become one of the big trends in food in South Korea, supporting sales of Chinese spicy food restaurants such as Ma-La-Tang.

High-quality ready meals threaten full-service restaurants

The number of single-person households is increasing rapidly in South Korea, which has led to rapid growth in sales of ready meals, as consumers prefer not to spend much time on cooking. In addition, the quality of ready meals is improving, and many restaurants are establishing partnerships with ready meal manufacturers to create new products.

Online foodservice delivery becomes a growth driver

Online foodservice delivery has been a significant disruptor in the consumer foodservice industry. Limited-service restaurants used to be the main users of foodservice delivery platforms; however, full-service restaurants have become more important, with foodservice delivery platforms focusing more on utilising their delivery manpower to provide third party delivery services, rather than just being a platform to connect restaurants and consumers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Major chained full-service players suffer

Established major players in full-service restaurants, such as CJ Foodville and Nolboo, are finding it difficult to maintain growth, as a variety of other competitors are entering the market and more traditional chains are losing popularity. Younger consumers prefer are favouring a restaurant experience where the décor and dishes are shareable on social media, such as Instagram, and the major players have been slow to incorporate such concepts in their restaurant outlets.

Consumers attracted to unique and authentic restaurants

Foodservice trends are changing quickly in South Korea, with consumers seeking restaurants with unique concepts where they can experience authentic cuisine. Independent and premium North American and European full-service restaurants are becoming popular, while longer established chained restaurants are struggling.

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