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Hanwha Galleria scoops American taste with new ice cream brand
An employee at Benson Creamery Seoul presents a selection of the store's ice creams, Monday. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Benson opens 1st store in Seoul Friday
Hanwha Galleria has entered Korea's ice cream market with the launch of Benson, a brand inspired by the creamy, topping-rich ice creams popular in the United States.
The first Benson store is set to open Friday in Seoul’s Gangnam District, led by Better Scoop Creamery, a subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria, the department store and food and beverage arm of Hanwha Group.
According to Better Scoop Creamery CEO Oh Min-woo, the brand focuses on the “flavor of ingredients” to realize ice cream’s true taste.
“I have been pondering about ice cream’s very definition and originality, and what it should taste like,” said Oh, who also heads FG Korea, a Hanwha Galleria subsidiary that operates the Korean branch of global burger franchise Five Guys.
“Benson, with our ingredients, transparent manufacturing process and creativity, proposes a new standard for real ice cream."
Oh said that Benson is reminiscent of Bensons’ Homemade Ice Cream, established in Massachusetts in 1932. However, he highlighted how Benson is Better Scoop Creamery’s original brand and its use of the name reflects how closely his new ice cream brand wanted to emulate the taste of American ice creams.
“We wanted to recreate the American-style ice creams with rich butterfat and chunky toppings. So we borrowed that name,” Oh said. “We didn’t simply bring the brand’s name here. We have invested the past two years in developing 20 flavors for the brand and building our manufacturing plant with top-of-the-line automation.”
At the shop’s basement level, the Creamery Lab offers visitors a view through a transparent glass wall into how Better Scoop Creamery develops and tests new flavors for Benson. Courtesy of Hanwha Galleria
Oh said Benson aims to see 20 stores by the end of this year, a move that could challenge Baskin-Robbins, which is operated by Korean food giant SPC and currently dominates the domestic ice cream market with more than 1,720 locations nationwide.
Better Scoop Creamery has already established a manufacturing plant in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, a move Oh described as a significant investment in the brand.
“Vice President Kim Dong-seon has been involved in Benson, giving us feedback for detailed product planning and the brand’s future direction. After all, he oversees Hanwha Galleria’s future businesses,” Oh said, referring to the vice president of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, who is the youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn.
With Benson, Hanwha Galleria has intensified its food and beverage business. The company launched FG Korea in 2023. The following year, the company acquired non-alcohol beverage maker Pureplus.
Benson’s first store, Benson Creamery Seoul, features a testing lab on basement level where new flavors are tested and visitors can create their own ice creams.
The second floor houses a tasting lounge, offering dessert dishes co-developed by Better Scoop Creamery and chef Justin Lee, who won the Pastry Talent of the Year Award at La Liste in France last year.
Korea Dairy Committee Chairman Kim Seon-young, who attended the completion ceremony of the Pocheon plant last month, praised Benson’s use of locally sourced dairy milk, saying that Benson’s production will “raise local dairy farmers’ competitiveness and spread the value.”