Despite a challenging year for the restaurant industry, South Korea’s catering companies saw record-breaking performances that were driven by the popularity of cost-effective cafeteria dining.

According to an electronic disclosure filing with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Tuesday, CJ Freshway reported 3.07 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in sales with an operating profit of 99.3 billion in 2023. The figures are an increase of 11.9 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, compared to a year ago, with the company’s net profit also surging by 14.3 percent to 59.7 billion won.

CJ Freshway’s success is attributable to its growing customer base in food distribution and thriving group catering business, including cafeteria services. The revenue from group catering services alone was a record high of 726.1 billion won.

The company’s profitability significantly expanded due to consecutive successes in securing large corporate clients, and the strategic expansion of high-value-added services such as mobile catering and takeout. Collaborations with brands that are popular among the younger demographic, such as ‘Kokkili Bagel,’ and the introduction of in-house developed menus, contributed to high customer satisfaction among both business clients and individual consumers.

Similarly, Hyundai Green Food announced a consolidated revenue of 2.19 trillion won for 2023, up 11 percent from a year ago. The company topped the 2 trillion won revenue mark for the first time and saw a record performance. The operating profit also increased by 9.8 percent to 84.7 billion won during the same period.

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the cafeteria business trend index for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 95.84, making it the segment with the highest score within the restaurant industry.

By Kim Geum-yi and Minu Kim

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