Foodservice and ingredient supplier CJ Freshway recently acquired an additional 27.5% equity in Marketboro, which operates the online ingredient open market "Sikbom," bringing its total to 55% and making it the largest shareholder. The move is seen as a signal to shift ingredient distribution, long centered on offline channels, to an online platform. Simply put, the company aims to become the Coupang of online ingredient distribution.
According to the retail industry on Apr. 7, the ingredient distribution market is about 63 trillion won in size, but the transaction structure remains fragmented. Restaurants are supplied through wholesalers or ingredient marts they each have dealt with. In this process, many rely on specific counterparties, and it has not been easy to compare prices or quality.
However, the "online ingredient open market" that CJ Freshway aims to grow focuses on changing this structure. Until now, neighborhood wholesalers or existing counterparties would gather and supply ingredients in one go, but going forward, restaurants will directly compare, select, and order products from multiple suppliers online. The distribution structure will shift from "bundled supply" to a "select-and-purchase" model.
This change also aligns with the recent slowdown in the dining-out market. With the burden of ingredient prices growing, restaurants are increasingly seeking to buy even a bit cheaper. CJ Freshway is also seen as attempting to expand into a platform business, judging that there are limits to growth with a business centered only on existing business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
The key, however, is logistics. Ingredients mix ambient, refrigerated, and frozen items, and order cycles are irregular, making delivery highly challenging. In particular, if delivery times vary by item, restaurant operations can be disrupted, so "receiving everything at once" is important.
CJ Freshway plans to introduce a "milk run" approach to solve this. It collects volumes by touring multiple suppliers and then delivers. While a different field, this is a logistics system used by Nissan. Nissan is known to have reduced its logistics cycle by 25% with this method.
In the retail industry, many say actual success or failure depends on operational capability. It is not easy to plan delivery routes in line with real-time variables. This is a field that requires efficient operations based on big data and algorithms.
A retail industry official said, "The concept itself is efficient, but ingredient distribution has many variables and is highly challenging," adding, "The key is whether multiple items can be delivered at the exact time in one go." Another industry official noted, "Competition with existing wholesalers, the burden of logistics costs, and competition among platforms are also variables."
The investment also ties into a shift in CJ Freshway's standing within the group. Attention had been limited due to the nature of its B2B-centered business, but if the platform business takes hold, it could emerge as a core growth pillar within the group, like CJ Olive Young.
In the retail industry, many believe the success or failure of this business will determine CJ Freshway's position going forward. A CJ Group official said, "Depending on the business results, the standing within the group of CEO Lee Geon-il, who has led CJ Freshway since 2024, could also change," adding, "The moves by Foodville and Freshway have been positive since last year."