ES Food Ingredients is a specialized corporation established in 2008 that handles and supplies over 1,000 varieties of essential flavorings, colorings, concentrates, and food additives. It provides these to small food and beverage businesses for testing various ingredients, and also sells finished goods such as fruit concentrates and flavorings that can be used directly in cafes and other outlets. ES is an abbreviation for 'Essential Supply,' which means 'to provide the materials necessary for the essence of business.'
Recently, Min Sang-dae, the representative of ES Food Ingredients, identified the company's core competency as 'comprehensive consulting.' He noted, 'Beyond merely supplying ingredients, we provide the methods for combining the necessary ingredients and corresponding technical support to assist in finished goods development or improvement of existing products. This allows customers to reduce trial and error during the research and development process.'
He said, 'We coach on what ingredients to use, how much to use, whether there are any conflicts with other materials, the order of addition based on the mixing ratio, any legal considerations, and the cost structure.' He added, 'Since 2019, we have shifted from offline sales, which tend to be less efficient and centered around large corporations, to an online system that allows for 24-hour sales with one-to-many outreach. We are now focusing on small corporations and individual business owners.' This is why Min has added the title 'coach' to his position.
Min explained that this transition in business system, closely aligned with the COVID-19 period, provided an opportunity as corporations accelerated their shift to e-commerce. They also achieved results with increased sales compared to before.
ES Food Ingredients is actively connecting with customers primarily through Naver Smart Store, except for its own shopping site. This is because over half of the demand from individuals interested in purchasing food ingredients comes from men in their mid-40s. By using Naver, a platform familiar to this demographic, the company analyzes customer characteristics and develops keyword advertising and promotion strategies accordingly.
The company operates a YouTube channel and offers over 100 educational videos for free. Min noted, 'We strive to enhance customers' understanding of ingredients and to make essential information for product development easily accessible.' He added, 'We also provide additional offline training when necessary to build trust with customers, which helps with online ingredient sales.'
Recently, ES Food Ingredients has been conducting a processing support project for agricultural products in collaboration with the Agricultural Technology Center, a public institution. 'We are helping farmers process their agricultural products to increase added value. For instance, we propose methods for producing stick jelly to farms that grow blueberries and provide the necessary ingredients and technology,' he explained. Through this initiative, farmers can explore new sales channels, and ES Food Ingredients gains opportunities for ingredient sales, which Min describes as a win-win strategy.
Min stated that he plans to continue developing a partnership model that grows alongside small and medium enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs. He emphasized that 'technology sharing' is the most important aspect to achieve this.
He remarked, 'Instead of hoarding technology, we need a mindset of giving and receiving.' He noted that they utilize 'shared laboratories' for businesses that lack research space. 'I believe that if everyone can use food ingredients well, we can all grow together,' he said. Through this, ES Food Ingredients aspires to continue its business as a partner that shares concerns alongside small business owners (SME).