Last-minute sales of expiring food gain popularity online

A shopper checks the expiration date on a product in a supermarket food aisle. gettyimagesbank

Foods nearing their expiration dates are becoming increasingly popular among both consumers and retailers in Korea. Consumers can purchase them at discounted prices, while sellers can generate profit rather than discarding them.

The trend is driven by rising retail prices across food products and restaurants over the past year, fueled by higher ingredient costs and other operational expenses. This inflation has led more consumers to cut back on food spending, resulting in declining sales for Korea’s dine-in restaurants and other food-related retail businesses.

Luckymeal is an online platform where registered outlets offer paper bags containing random, soon-to-expire food items. Unlike typical shopping, customers do not select specific products — instead, they purchase a surprise “treat bag” at discounts of 50 percent or more.

Users of the platform can choose from various stores — ranging from bakeries to side dish or dessert shops — and check the number of available “lucky bags.” They can then reserve a bag along with a preferred pickup time. The platform later confirms whether the pickup can proceed as scheduled or notifies the user if the store runs out of food before then.

The platform’s smartphone app, launched in 2023, has been downloaded more than 50,000 times on Google Play Store.

“Food waste is increasing every year in Korea. Let’s help create a cleaner Earth with Luckymeal,” the app’s introduction page says. “We have saved 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide by sharing 10,000 lucky bags!”

The trend is evident offline as well. On the first floor of a community mall inside an apartment complex in southeastern Seoul's Songpa District, Earth Store sells household food products at discounts of 50 percent or more. CJ Group opened the store in April, selling products from its food product arm, CJ CheilJedang.

The Luckymeal app shows a doughnut shop near Ttukseom Station in Seoul with a red pin that offers a bag of three different kinds of doughnuts for 7,900 won ($5.73), discounted from 16,000 won, which is available for pickup between 8:10 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. Screenshot from Luckymeal app

Products at the store have three to four months remaining until their expiration dates. According to CJ, it has decided to separate CJ CheilJedang products with only a few months left before expiration and sell them at a dedicated store. Products nearing expiration cannot be distributed through regular retail channels due to the risk of consumer complaints, the company explained.

Earth Store is currently CJ Group’s project business. The store sells products to both walk-in customers and through the KakaoTalk online platform, where it sends notifications about available items and accepts reservations.

CJ said it has rented the store’s lot for three months and will decide whether to continue the business after that period.

Last Order is another online platform that highlights foods, health supplements and cosmetic products nearing expiration near users locations. Users can pay through the platform and either pick up their orders or dine in at the sellers’ venues.

Thirty Mall, launched in 2015, has seen over 4 million reviews and 980,000 users. Categories include foods, desserts, fashion, beauty, nutritional supplements and refurbished appliances including computers. The items, according to the company, are either near or too far from expiration, used or in overstock.

The company said retail products “get dumped for so many reasons,” saying it sells those unpopular items for cheaper prices.

Consumers said these products sell for prices so low they feel like they are “receiving a gift.” A Luckymeal user said he likes getting random foods out of lucky bags so he can try different foods.

Another Luckymeal user who called herself a bread-lover said on a Naver blog the platform encouraged "eco-friendly consumption" and saved her money.

"I got three bagels in my lucky bag. All were random but tasted good. And I got them for a price less than two bagels' worth. What a bargain!" the blogger said. "When everything seems so expensive these days, Luckymeal saves you money and even reduces food waste."

Sellers express satisfaction as well. A bakery operator using Luckymeal said she did not like dumping what she had made, especially considering increased prices for ingredients like flour and cooking oil.