This study is designed to examine the size and features of the fresh-cut produce market in Korea today and to find ways to stimulate the market. Fresh-cut produce refers to agricultural products which are sanitarily processed following the three steps of cutting, washing and packaging after they are harvested, and it is fresh and convenient to use. The fresh-cut produce market is estimated to be 581 to 683 billion won or 3.3% to 3.9% of the total value of agricultural products purchased by the food industry. The food industry is estimated to consume a total of 250,000 tons of fresh-cut produce or 2% of the entire agricultural produce. Regarding the consumption volume, the restaurant industry is on the top of the list consuming 147,000 tons. The fresh-cut produce can be further divided into primary-level and secondary-level fresh-cut produce by the degree of processing. The former accounts for 65% of the total fresh-cut produce supply, while the latter takes up the remaining 35%.
Compared with the unprocessed produce in their natural state, fresh-cut produce is distributed through more simplified routes. It is produced mainly by fresh-cut produce processors who purchase produce in natural state from farmers. Then the fresh-cut produce processors directly sell it to the purchasers with a large demand, such as restaurant franchises, group meal providers, or large-scale retailers, with significant purchasing power. The fresh-cut produce market has the feature that purchasers are mostly buying in a large volume, while processors are mostly medium in size. Therefore, purchasers have more bargaining power.
According to a research of restaurants, 35% of restaurant franchises are using fresh-cut produce, while less than 5% of mom-and-pop style family-run restaurants do the same. Restaurants regard freshness, price, sanitary efforts and stable supply as important factors to consider and believe that various degrees of quality differences are found among different suppliers in those aforementioned categories. In the evaluation of fresh-cut produce suppliers, agricultural cooperatives were rated top in terms of quality, hygiene, safety and supply capability, but it was found that ag-coops lag behind private companies, agricultural associations (agricultural enterprises) and large food materials suppliers in terms of price. A conjoint analysis was conducted for lettuce, potato and onion by offering different mixes of features including price, packaging, certification and pre-processing level, and it turned out that price is the most important element followed by pre-processing level.
The key reasons for buying fresh-cut produce include consumers' ability to buy small amount (small packaging unit) and saving of cooking time. It is mostly purchased at large hypermarkets, which account for up to 74% of the total purchase. Consumers were found to view freshness and shelf time as the most important features of choice in fresh-cut produce, followed by safety, country of origin and price level. Consumers tend to have more past experience and the future intention of buying it as they are younger, more educated and have higher income. In particular, younger age group showed a significant preference to it. The particular fresh-cut items consumers prefer to buy include ready-to-eat vegetables for immediate consumption without cooking, such as leafy vegetables for wrap and salad.
Fresh-cut produce processors are mostly agricultural associations or private companies, but ag-coops are also running. In the fresh-cut produce market, the number of suppliers surged 45% for the last five years and more suppliers tend to venture into the market. Some 36% of the processors do not have quality assurance experts. The profit-making companies whose sales are above the average are in the private sector without exception, while the businesses run by ag-coops are making losses. Agricultural associations are smaller in size by the standard of sales, but the ratio of profit making to loss making agricultural associations is very high. The success factors of the fresh-cut produce business include stable supply of raw materials, management of quality and safety, stable expansion of sales channels, and reduction in the cost of production and logistics.
The demand for fresh-cut produce will rise along with income growth and labor cost increase in the restaurant industry. Other social and demographic factors will drive the demand for fresh-cut produce. These factors include expansion of restaurant franchise, smaller family size, growing single-member households, and more double-income families. With the research results on domestic restaurants, consumers and suppliers comprehensively put together, the market for fresh-cut produce is expected to expand in accordance with economic growth. The demand for fresh-cut produce is anticipated to grow in a smooth curve, but fresh-cut produce suppliers tend to seek rapid business expansion. This may inevitably lead to a growing imbalance between supply and demand, and the competition among fresh-cut produce suppliers will continue accordingly.
Considering the above, "maintaining stable supply and transactions" and "improving quality and standards" should be key policy directions to take. When asked for the right policy direction, restaurant businesses pointed out supply price reduction, while suppliers mentioned promoting consumption. According to the evaluation of the key features of fresh-cut produce by restaurants and consumer households, promoting freshness of fresh-cut produce, proper labeling of circulation period, price reduction, and stabilization and food safety management scheme really matter.
On the marketing side, fresh-cut produce suppliers need to take strategic approaches in terms of price, products and distribution channels. The appropriate price level for fresh-cut produce which is going to be consumed at home seems to be the supplier price plus 20% premium. For high-quality produce, the price level could move up to the supplier price plus 45% premium. In the future, leafy vegetables for vegetable wrap, salads, fruits and other vegetables, which are ready to eat without cooking, are expected to see more demand growth, thereby requiring improvement in the way of maintaining their freshness and food safety. As for the fresh-cut produce items that are ready to cook, including flavor vegetables, root vegetables and western vegetables, the commercial as well as household demand for them is anticipated to grow. This market can be further expanded with price cut.