[Courtesy of Shinsegae Food]
SEOUL -- The food product wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae will open a store for its alternative meat product called "Better Meat" in a premium food store in Gangnam, the heart of fashion and trends, in southern Seoul. The retail giant saw a glimpse of success through Better Meat when some 13,000 customers visited a temporary pop-up store in Gangnam between July and December 2022.
Alternative meat, also known as vegan meat, is made using plant-based ingredients such as soy, beans, mushrooms, and pumpkins to create the texture and taste of meat. Sometimes lab-grown meat products are sold as alternative meat products. When cooked, there is very little difference between ordinary meat and alternative meat.
Thanks to an increased number of vegans, South Korea's alternative meat market is steadily growing. The state-operated Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation predicted that the country's vegan meat market will reach 29.4 billion won ($23.8 million) in 2025. When Better Meat was launched in July 2021, Shinsegae released cold cuts for Starbucks sandwiches. Better Meat products were adopted by a canteen operated by SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile carrier, in December 2021.
Shinsegae Food said in a statement on January 25 that the company opened a store called "The better Vecchia & nuovo" in SSG Food Market located in Gangnam. The food market is a premium grocery store that sells high-quality food ingredients and other high-end menus that are not available in other food stores. The store will sell cold cuts, meatballs, pasta menus, and salads made using vegan meat. According to the retail giant, many customers have requested Shinsegae Food to open an official store for its alternative meat products after the pop-up store was closed at the end of 2022.
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