Department stores have entered the regular subscription market for food materials and groceries, which had formed around food companies. Shinsegae Department Store has unveiled a premium rice subscription service with rice milled to order. As consumers in a high inflation era increasingly try to manage repeat-purchase items in a planned way, the grocery subscription market is emerging as a new battleground for the retail industry.
According to the retail and food industries on the 26th, the food subscription market has recently been expanding from a focus on fermented milk and health foods to covering raw ingredients such as rice. Food companies have already been growing the subscription market. hy (formerly Korea Yakult), which has more than 2 million regular-delivery subscribers, has expanded its regular-delivery items beyond fermented milk to fresh foods through its own mall, "Fredit," and Lotte Wellfood operates "Monthly Snacks" and "Monthly Raw Bread." Daesang Wellife is strengthening its subscription delivery service centered on its balanced nutrition brand "New Care."
With department stores joining a market that had been centered on food companies, competition in items and services is diversifying. Shinsegae Department Store's Korean Food Research Institute brand "Fermentation: Storeroom" launched a premium rice subscription service on the 14th of this month. The subscription item is "Ok-ro," a rice developed through collaboration between the institute's chefs and a rice sommelier. The product combines the domestic varieties Samgwang, Baekjinju, and Yeorihyang, and subscribers can receive rice freshly milled at the source every two weeks via direct delivery. The product lineup is also customized for consumers, segmented from 450g to 10kg.
According to Shinsegae Department Store, the service began as customer inquiries continued about Ok-ro, which had been used at the fine dining restaurant "Jajuhansang" inside House of Shinsegae. Customers were curious about rice varieties that make good-tasting cooked rice. In response, Shinsegae Department Store conducted a pilot subscription service for some VIP customers, and after confirming positive feedback, officially launched the service.
A Shinsegae Department Store official said, "We emphasized 'freshly milled' in the subscription service because of freshness and taste," and added, "Based on the judgment that it tastes best right after milling, we designed it so consumers can eat rice in its optimal state." The official continued, "Because 'Fermentation: Storeroom' is a brand through which Shinsegae Department Store develops Korean cuisine and tradition, this service is also part of various attempts to expand premium ingredient experiences."
The industry sees this as differentiation that highlights a raw ingredient—premium rice—rarely seen in existing food subscription markets. A retail industry official said, "Rice is a representative daily necessity and a repeat-purchase item, so it has great potential to expand through subscriptions," adding, "Recently, attempts are emerging in many places to open a new market with services that go beyond simple delivery to combine milling timing and quality control."
The food subscription industry is also growing in the global market. According to market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the global food subscription market is expected to grow from $6.19 billion (about 9.31 trillion won) last year to $6.74 billion (about 10.13 trillion won) this year. It is expected to grow to $14.42 billion (about 21.68 trillion won) by 2032. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 9.97%.
Overseas, non-food corporations are also entering the food subscription market. A representative example is U.S. e-commerce company Amazon. Through its "Subscribe & Save" service, Amazon operates a regular delivery service for repeat-purchase daily necessities such as bottled water, cereal and coffee.
The industry views this as a response to the spread of planned consumption, the so-called "Ready-core" (a consumer tendency to plan needed goods in advance and manage repeat purchases rather than rely on discounts or impulse buys). As demand grows to manage repeat-purchase items through regular delivery, the food subscription market is changing.
A food industry official said, "As high inflation and economic uncertainty persist, consumers are increasingly trying to manage essential foods they buy repeatedly in a planned way rather than cutting all spending," adding, "Subscription services are also evolving beyond simple discount models into a variety of items and personalized services."
Seo Yong-gu, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "With technological advances and greater consumer acceptance, subscription services have taken root as a form of consumption," adding, "Food subscriptions are likely to shift from simple delivery to quality competition. The premium subscription market will also grow further."