Foodpolis offers one-stop support for food firms

An artist impression of the Korea National Food Cluster in Iksan, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

This article is a joint project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and The Korea Times. ― Ed.

By Nam Hyun-woo

More technical support and aid is in the pipeline this year for food firms nestling at the Korea National Food Cluster, or "Foodpolis," according to the operating agency of the industrial complex.

According to the agency, Foodpolis has provided consultation and other support on certification, intellectual property, home meal replacement product development and other technical issues for 21 firms operating in the food complex so far this year. The total value of the support stood at 1.47 billion won ($1.3 million).

The agency said an additional 2.63 billion won is scheduled to be provided for companies there in the second half of the year.

"Technical assistance from experts having illustrative careers at multiple food research institutes and companies will be provided to firms at Foodpolis," an agency official said. "Their support will be helpful for companies to accurately identify problems and easily come up with solutions."

Foodpolis is a state-funded food industry complex for both Korean and international food firms in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. Occupying a 2.32-square-kilometer site, it began signing contracts with food firms in 2015 and currently houses 69 domestic firms, one international firm and four food research institutes.

As the number of firms at Foodpolis increases, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which administers the Foodpolis project, plans to expand the industrial complex by 3 square kilometers, so that the complex can host over 150 businesses and 10 research centers by 2020.

In January, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon visited the complex and asked the ministry to expedite the expansion.

If the goal is accomplished, the ministry expects the complex will generate annual output worth $14 billion and create 22,000 new jobs.

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, fourth from left, listens to an explanation during his visit to the Korea National Food Cluster in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, Jan. 18. Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Under various support programs, multiple companies at the complex have shown noticeable earnings growth.

One of the firms is Fin Company, which produces "baumkuchen," a German layer cake. Founded in 2016, the company built a 5 thousand-square-meter plant at the complex in 2017.

Under technical support from the complex, the company won a prize in a food quality contest held by the German Agriculture Society in January this year, as well as receiving a domestic government prize for its packaging.

The firm's sales have grown from 130 million won in 2017 to 900 million won last year, and it has begun supplying its products to Starbucks, Shinsegae Food, GS25 and other domestic food conglomerates.

Among research institutes, last September the complex welcomed Fraunhofer IVV, an international food research firm based in Germany.

Fraunhofer is funded by the German government, and has 24,000 researchers in 75 labs across the world.

Among those labs, Fraunhofer IVV's focus is on food packaging, and it has been building relations with Foodpolis over developing high-functioning light interruption materials for food packaging.

With Fraunhofer IVV opening a lab there, the complex now has two of the world's leading food research institutes.

Campden BRI, a U.K.-based food research institute, opened a lab at the complex in 2017 and has been sharing its knowhow and expertise with researchers and other employees of domestic food firms.

Founded in 1919, Campden BRI has been providing scientific, technical and legislative information support to food and beverage makers across the globe, such as Kellogg's, Heinz and Danone.

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