Pulmuone opens hands-on cooking school ‘Tasty Pulmuone’
Pulmuone said April 23 it has opened a cooking school, ‘Tasty Pulmuone,’ at its headquarters in Suseo, Seoul, and has begun full operations. The opening ceremony was held the previous day with board chair Lee Hyoyul and chief executive Lee Woobong among attendees.
The program is designed as a hands-on platform where consumers cook for themselves while learning meal planning that considers health and the environment. It is built around Pulmuone’s “211” approach, emphasizing vegetables, whole grains and low-saturated-fat protein.
The curriculum has four tracks: vegetable-forward meals, using whole grains, cooking low-saturated-fat proteins, and practicing flexible vegetarian eating. Classes run as a two-day format, two hours per day, with eight participants per session, held twice a month. Enrollment is first-come, first-served through the official website.
Sample dishes include a fresh dandelion-and-soybean salad, herb chicken breast with sweet pumpkin, glutinous brown rice vegetable sushi, and kale wraps with thick soybean paste. Pulmuone said the menu uses simple one-bowl and one-dish cooking to make it easier to apply at home.
Pulmuone said it plans to expand participation to vulnerable groups, foreigners and food professionals, and to build a community to promote sustainable eating. Graduates will receive recipe cards and certificates.
“‘Tasty Pulmuone’ was designed as a place where consumers can naturally learn sustainable eating by cooking and tasting for themselves,” said Yoon Myung-rang, head of global marketing at Pulmuone Foods. “We will expand everyday practice through a range of education programs.”
BBQ signs Thailand master franchise deal, steps up Southeast Asia push
Genesis BBQ said April 23 it has signed a master franchise agreement with a local company in Thailand, moving to scale up its business there and use the country as a base to expand across Southeast Asia.
Its partner, Genesis BBQ (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is a corporation established by a company that has operated food-and-beverage and social overhead capital businesses based in Shanghai, China, BBQ said. The partner has experience running casual dining restaurants in Thailand and is seen as having a strong grasp of local commercial districts and consumer trends.
Thailand, with a population of about 71 million and strong tourism demand, is viewed as a key Southeast Asian market, BBQ said. The company also cited local preferences for spicy flavors, fried foods and sauce-based dishes as factors supporting demand for chicken and other Korean food items.
BBQ said it plans to open casual-dining flagship stores in major commercial areas in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya, including in large shopping complexes such as Siam Paragon and CentralWorld, and then expand franchising in stages.
A BBQ official said the company plans to establish a foothold in Thailand and then expand into neighboring countries including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
GS25 ‘Hyeja’ ready meals top 100 million sold in three years since relaunch
GS Retail said April 23 that cumulative sales of its GS25 private-label ready-to-eat line ‘Hyeja’ have surpassed 100 million units in the three years since the brand’s relaunch, as demand grows for budget-friendly meals amid high prices.
Including sales since the brand’s first launch in 2010, cumulative volume totals 530 million units, the company said.
The ‘Hyeja’ line is a private-brand convenience food range developed with actor Kim Hye-ja and marketed under the concept of “mom’s home cooking.” GS Retail said it has been credited with helping position convenience-store meals as a regular meal option by emphasizing reasonable prices and consistent quality.
As dining-out costs rose and “lunchflation” intensified, consumers called for the brand’s return, GS Retail said. GS25 brought it back in February 2023 and said it overhauled ingredients and manufacturing processes to improve quality.
The company said expanding beyond lunch boxes into salads and bread also supported growth. A 1,500-won ‘Hyeja’ dessert introduced in March sold 1 million units in a month, it said.
“We earned customer trust through reasonable prices and steady quality improvements,” said Park Jong-seo, a GS Retail FF team manager. “We will further strengthen our position as a ‘national ready-meal’ brand by developing products that match changing food culture.”
Korean beef fund, Solarwalk partner to expand solar power at livestock farms
The Korean Beef Fund Management Committee said it is partnering with solar power company Solarwalk to help livestock farms adopt renewable energy, aiming to ease rising energy costs and support carbon-neutral efforts.
The committee said April 23 it signed a business agreement with Solarwalk to expand the use of eco-friendly energy. The signing ceremony was held at Solarwalk’s headquarters in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, with committee chair Cho Jae-sung and Solarwalk CEO Hong Hyun-jin attending.
The agreement is intended to support Korean beef farms facing difficulties from higher energy prices and the climate crisis, and to build a production base aligned with carbon neutrality, the committee said. The two sides agreed to cooperate on improving energy efficiency and reducing operating costs through solar installations.
Planned cooperation includes supporting the introduction and expansion of solar facilities at farms, jointly pursuing ways to cut energy costs, identifying projects tied to environmentally friendly livestock operations, and providing education and consulting. The committee said it will encourage participation nationwide and handle administrative support.
Solarwalk will be responsible for installation and technical support and will provide tailored energy-saving solutions by farm. The company also plans maintenance and follow-up support after installation to ensure stable operations.
“We expect this will provide practical help to farms facing heavier energy cost burdens,” Cho said. “I hope this agreement becomes a turning point for an environmentally friendly transition in the Korean beef industry.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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