Food delivery has become more accessible than ever in South Korea.
Korea food delivery apps have brought together thousands of restaurants across the country into a single location-based platform, growing significantly over the past few years.
According to Woowa Brothers Corp., which operates the leading food delivery app Baedal Minjok, the monthly number of delivery orders exceeded 10 million for the first time last month at 10.7 million, which was an increase from 5.2 million in December 2014 and 7.12 million in 2015.
Woowa Brothers added that the average number of orders per customer is also increasing steadily, from 3.2 orders per month in 2014 to 3.6 orders in 2015.
Industry watchers expect the market to continue its growth, taking into consideration new types of food delivery apps with differentiated services entering the market, such as Shikshin Hero, which delivers food from famous restaurants that typically don’t provide delivery services.
Newly emerging dining trends like eating or drinking alone are also expected to add to the continued growth of delivery apps.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation predicted last year that “do it yourself hype” and “more food options for take-out or delivery” would drive Korea’s dining trends in 2017, forecasting a positive outlook for the food delivery industry.
“A greater number of single-person households gave birth to more people drinking and dining alone, and a greater variety of food options are now available for delivery,” said a Woowa Brothers official. “Such factors led to the rapid expansion of the market.”