Singled out for small portions
/ Courtesy of Home plus
By Rachel Lee
Dining alone may be losing its stigma in Korea.
Food producers are setting their sights on the “single-serving” market as the country increasingly becomes a single-household nation.
According to Home plus, the Korean arm of British supermarket Tesco, the number of single-serve, prepared meals has increased 53.6 percent over the past two years, from 392 to 602. Sales have climbed about 30 percent every year since 2012.
“Food manufacturers are filling supermarket shelves with a range of creative single-serve food products to tempt solitary or hurried shoppers,” a Home plus spokesperson said.
According to Statistics Korea, the proportion of single households reached 23.9 percent last year. The proportion has increased by some six percent every year since 2000.
In line with the change, special online shopping forums for small, packaged foods have emerged. For example, Shopintake.com exclusively sells food products for single-person households.
Apart from instant meals, large retailers have introduced assortments of fresh foods such as packs of mixed vegetables and bowls of fresh fruit. The number of such packaged food products at Home plus has risen 571 percent, from 31 in 2012 to 208 last year, according to the food chain.
To meet the growing demand, Home plus on Wednesday launched 46 single-serve prepared meals branded “Single’s Pride,” which include lasagna, barbecued pork rib and Korean soups. The products contain no additives or preservatives and sell for 2,700 won.
Similarly, Simply Wine sells “miniature” bottles of wine that are appropriate for one person.
“With consumer lifestyles becoming more frantic, our continuous product development will be the key to keeping up with this trend,” said Home plus food commercial director Jo Han-gyoo.