A recent survey shows that 4 out of 10 adults in Korea eat out more than once a day, while spending an average of 10,110 won for lunch. (Image : monittalisamary0 / Pixabay)
SEOUL, Nov.26 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent survey shows that 4 out of 10 adults in Korea eat out more than once a day, while spending an average of 10,110 won for lunch.
According to Alix Partners, a global management consulting company, the results of its ‘2015 Survey on Food Service Industry Customers’ conducted with the participation of 1,300 adults showed that 40 percent of the respondents ate out almost every day.
At 67 percent, two thirds of the respondents answered that they eat out at least once a week. On average, those surveyed ate out 9.1 times every month.
The average cost for dinner during the past year was 17,850 won, while respondents spent an average of 10,110 won for lunch, and 4,885 won for breakfast. Those surveyed also spent an average of 7,295 won every day on coffee, snacks and desserts.
The respondents also answered that they were willing to pay an average of 23,353 won for dinner, 12,343 won for lunch and 6,723 won for breakfast.
For the quality they thought most important in selecting a restaurant (duplicate answers allowed), 83 percent answered ‘taste of food’, with ‘price’ ranking second (64 percent). Only 40 percent answered that the location of the restaurant was important.
In terms of obtaining information about restaurants, 86 percent answered that they used the internet most often to find good places to eat, while 77 percent answered that they got information about restaurant promotions through social network services.
Almost half of the respondents (46 percent) answered that they had uploaded a picture of the food they ordered on SNS, and among them, 40 percent answered that they regularly upload pictures of food on their SNS accounts.
“Based on the responses, many people were willing to go to places far away to get good food. As the need and significance of eating out is growing, the results show that consumers think that the taste and quality of the food is more important, and they are willing to pay more for a good meal,” said Brandon Jung, executive director of Alix Partners, analyzing the results of the survey.
According to the ‘Report on the Prospects of the Food Industry in 2016’, Alix Partners calculated that over the past seven years, the Korean food industry showed an annual growth rate of six percent. This is a higher rate than Japan (four percent) or the U.S. (one percent). However, compared to the market sizes of America ($709 billion) and Japan ($310 billion), the food industry market of Korea is still significantly smaller ($80 billion), showing promising possibilities for growth.
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)
