Diners and food joints at expressway service areas, bus terminals and airports are slowly upping the quality of their offerings. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Diners and food joints at expressway service areas, bus terminals and airports are slowly upping the quality of their offerings.
There is a Korean saying that the food at service areas, bus terminals and airports tastes the worst, because the people who eat there are just ships that pass in the night.
However, according to officials in the food service industry, many brands are expanding their concession stand businesses by opening new stores at service areas and terminals, targeting the many people that pass through the multiuse facilities.
The most popular venue is Incheon Airport. The airport, which has received numerous international awards, welcomed 45 million visitors last year, making it an attractive place to open shop. Also, it is a great opportunity to introduce domestic brands to international customers.
Having obtained the rights to open new establishments at Incheon Airport, CJ Foodville, SPC and Amoje Food are making an effort to promote Hanshik (Korean cuisine) internationally, and boost brand awareness.
Bibigo store of CJ Foodville. (Image : Yonhap)
Amoje Food opened Gourmet Dessert, a food court devoted to desserts that hosts eight popular dessert places from the Cheongdam and Hongdae areas in Seoul. CJ Foodville opened new locations for its Bibigo, Vips, Twosome Place and Tous Les Jours brands.
As the number of people going away for the weekend is increasing, expressway service areas are rising as a new battlefield for the food service industry.
Sulbing, a Korean dessert café, opened its first service area store at the Tancheon service center. The company plans to increase its number of service area stores to 50 by 2017. Street Churros, which created a ‘street dessert’ craze in Itaewon, also opened a store at Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
Officials explain that multiuse facilities are located in areas with easy access, making it more convenient to attract customers. In addition, there is a lot of foot traffic nearby, allowing brands to target different clientele, and making it possible for companies to manage their businesses in a much more stable state.
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)
