Yeon Jin-guk, an intern researcher at the Funding Institute. Filled with determination and passion, Yeon Jin-guk has finally been assigned his first task.
“Hey, intern researcher, would you like to write a funding research log?”
Yeon Jin-guk, who got scolded on his first day of work for confusing "cloud" with "crowd" (
How on earth did you end up becoming a research intern?Will he actually be able to carry out the mission successfully?Here begins Yeon Jin-guk’s Funding Exploration Journal.
I saw this on social media—it’s a crowdfunding campaign, right?
Although few people would guess it from my flawless Seoul accent, I’m actually from outside the capital region. Before moving here, my biggest complaint was that there were no good restaurants or trendy spots near where I lived. (There are plenty of hotspots in the provinces now, but back then, there were even fewer.) Why are all the famous places in Seoul? Is this the gap between the capital region and the rest of the country? It’s so unfair, so unfair. Whenever I went on a trip to Seoul, I’d be busy mapping out a food itinerary days in advance and squeezing those stops in between my other plans.
The pandemic and the contactless era of the past three years have driven the development of delivery culture and meal kit technology. Now, you can enjoy food from all over the country right at home. It’s also common to see cafes sending their signature dishes nationwide through orders placed via social media, particularly Instagram. As we entered the endemic era, it seemed like this business might be facing a crisis. However, its popularity remains strong because it saves on transportation costs and eliminates the time spent traveling back and forth and waiting. For restaurant owners, it’s a win-win situation since they can attract a diverse customer base from all over the country.
In line with this trend, popular restaurants from all over the country began appearing on funding platforms. The project titles alone could easily map out the eight provinces of Korea—Jeju, Incheon, Busan, and more. Examples include “Enjoy Seongsu-dong’s best restaurants from the comfort of your home!”, “A Gimpo restaurant that sells out by the afternoon,” and “The legend of Yongsan tteokbokki.” Many of these were places I’d seen at least once in posts by my social media friends…
So! In this research log, I’m going to take a closer look at the social media-famous restaurants that have popped up on crowdfunding platforms.
That’s the place I saw on social media.
Early in the story, this line appears:
“Yes, this is the same Cafe Mama you saw on social media.”
Cafe Mamas, which has a massive number of tagged posts (as of November 16, 2022)
Cafe Mamas began in 2002 as a small cafe on the corner of Seosomun. It started as a healthy slow-food restaurant featuring European ingredients such as ricotta cheese and panini. With foreign companies and young female office workers as its main customers, it grew rapidly as it won their hearts. Today, it has grown into a company with no fewer than 20 company-owned locations. Even now, 20 years later, Cafe Mamas continues to be beloved, generating numerous hashtags on Instagram.
It’s definitely a hotspot! / Source: #CafeMamas’ signature brunch—no introduction needed | Enjoy an epic brunch at home!
Cafe Mamas’ signature dish is the ricotta cheese salad! The cheese is made fresh in small batches right in the store using a homemade method. The ciabatta served alongside it has also been perfected through 20 years of research and is handmade. Given that these are handmade, fresh products, shipping them may be difficult, but this item crowdfunding.
Source: #CafeMamas' signature brunch—no introduction needed | Enjoy an unforgettable brunch at home!
“Cafe Mamas has launched a Wadiz crowdfunding campaign to bring our products closer to people across the country. The valuable funds raised through Wadizcampaign will be used to introduce Cafe Mamas to an even wider audience and to establish ourselves as the nation’s leading ricotta cheese producer. With this Wadiz campaign as our starting point, Cafe Mamas will evolve into a food company offering a wide range of food services!”
In its Wadiz funding description, Cafe Mamas defines the purpose of this campaign as follows: Over the past 10 years, Cafe Mamas has grown from a small café into an offline brand with multiple company-owned locations. Now, it aims to evolve into a food company that provides multi-food services without the boundaries between online and offline. This funding campaign serves as the stepping stone for that leap forward!
Since the funding campaign ended, Cafe Mamas has continued to distribute its products through platforms such as Wadiz, Market Kurly, and Naver Smart Store.
Make that famous sandwich from social media at home
As if to prove its status as a Gwanghwamun hotspot, this project also proudly displayed its social media accounts right at the start of the story. The number of followers and the reviews posted by customers who’ve visited the restaurant speak to its status as a true “hot spot.” (A little TMI from Yeon Jin-guk: First, I’ve actually waited in line to eat there myself. Second, the Inwangsan and Hillside Table route is famous among fitness enthusiasts. Of course, I’ve done that route myself.)
Hillside Table Instagram Profile (as of November 16, 2022)
Hillside Table began as a small salad shop in 2013. It is widely loved not only by office workers in Gwanghwamun but also by food enthusiasts who travel from far and wide for its healthy cuisine. The secret to its success lies in its “brand philosophy” and “quality ingredients.” Having started out in the early days by personally selecting high-quality ingredients from farms to create fresh salads, the restaurant remains steadfast in its commitment to providing fresh food to this day. “Health management must be sustainable, and therefore, it must be delicious!” Guided by this philosophy, they bake sprouted brown rice bread made with seven grains and create light soy milk cheese without added cream.
Hillside Table’s Soy Milk Cheese Sandwich / Source: “Hillside Table,” a Gwanghwamun favorite to enjoy at home—Soy Milk Cheese Sandwich Meal Kit
The signature dish here is the soy milk cheese sandwich. Hillside Table has prepared meal kits so that you can enjoy this dish right here in this remote village, without having to go through the trouble of taking the KTX to Seoul Station, then taking a bus to Gwanghwamun and walking all the way here. They’ve prepared meal kits. Perhaps it’s because they want to spread their philosophy of “being healthy in a delicious way”—rather than just promoting healthy food?
This meal kit consists of soy milk cheese and sprouted brown rice bread, which are key to both the taste and nutritional value of the sandwich. In particular, the soy milk cheese comes in three flavors—original, matcha, and butternut squash—so you can enjoy a variety of healthy options. With just this meal kit? That’s Hillside Table. You can easily recreate that flavor. Everyone has butternut squash, strawberry jam, nuts, and vegetables in their fridge, right?
Hillside Table announced that it would use the crowdfunding proceeds to fund product development for a wider variety of breads and soy milk cheeses. Six months later, they launched another crowdfunding campaign featuring strawberry soy milk cheese, tangzhong grain bread, and biscotti. After that, they even sold their products briefly Wadiz! (They’re not available there anymore. What a shame…)
No waiting—just sit back and enjoy the taste
With frequent reports of celebrity visits, this spot is a must-know for anyone who follows social media trends. It boasts a whopping 22,345 posts with the hashtag and 23,000 followers. (As of November 15, 2022) This is BoMarket, a community-focused platform dedicated to transforming the value of neighborhoods! It has a presence in all the hottest neighborhoods these days, from Namsan and Gyeongnidan-gil to Seoul Forest and Sinchon.
Bomarket Instagram Profile (as of November 15, 2022)
This place aims to make life beautiful, practical, and delicious. A wide variety of products—from home living items that spark a desire to collect and buy, to wines, snacks, dairy products, and other convenient foods—are available to help achieve this. If you search the #BOMARKET hashtag, the most common photos you’ll see are of deli menu items, including brunch. The most popular item among them is tteokbokki! (According to the BOMARKET chef, it’s “Korean-style brunch.”) True to its reputation as a popular spot where a one-hour wait is considered normal, the tteokbokki occasionally sells out, so they’ve turned it into a meal kit and launched a crowdfunding campaign.
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- Source: [Trending Restaurants on Social Media] Enjoy popular tteokbokki from home! Bo Market Tteokbokki
What makes this special is that we developed the meal kits in collaboration with John Cook, a brand easily found at Bo Market. Bo Market stores carry a wide variety of John Cook deli meat products. In other words, this crowdfunding campaign marks Bo Market’s second collaboration with John Cook. John Cook already sells ham, ready-to-eat meals, and deli meats through its own online store and various e-commerce platforms. When it comes to online distribution—including meal kits and packaging—John Cook serves as a valuable partner and mentor to Bo Market! Thanks to this partnership, supporters can now enjoy the taste of freshly made tteokbokki at home, just like in the store.
Source: [Trending Restaurants on Social Media] Enjoy popular tteokbokki from home! Bo Market Tteokbokki
Why did John Cook choose crowdfunding even though it already had its own online store as a distribution channel? Perhaps it’s because crowdfunding can serve as a means of promotion and market validation. Currently, Tteokbokki is being sold at full price on its own online store following the successful completion of the crowdfunding campaign.
A popular restaurant on social media is seeking funding to take its business to the next level!
Why is a popular restaurant on social media seeking funding? That was my first thought when I saw a familiar name in the project title. Upon taking a closer look at the project, the answer to that question became immediately clear.
While the fundamental concept of crowdfunding is to raise funds and provide corresponding rewards, as the culture of crowdfunding has taken root, values that go beyond this concept have emerged. First, by running a crowdfunding project, creators can communicate with supporters and validate the market potentialof their business and products. Second, they can identify areas for improvement andgenerate new ideas. Third, opportunities to expand into new distribution channelsalso open up. In fact, it is not uncommon for creators to receive offers to list their products on e-commerce platforms after the funding campaign ends.
Even for popular restaurants with long-established reputations where customers line up to eat, online distribution—including mass production, packaging, meal kit conversion, and delivery—presents a major challenge. For this reason, it can be difficult for them to take the plunge on their own. Crowdfunding serves as a trial run or soft launch for them before they venture into online distribution. By tracking the number of backers and the amount raised, they can verify the competitiveness of their online product launch in advance. They can also use feedback from backers to provide better service in future distribution efforts. Isn’t this why popular social media spots and restaurants choose crowdfunding as their first step? To take a leap toward greater heights.
That wraps up Day 9 of my crowdfunding journal. Next time, I’ll have to discover some great local eateries from all over the country through crowdfunding projects.
It looks like it’s time for a treasure hunt!
View other logs 👀
Episode 1: “My First Assignment Has Been Assigned”
Episode 2: “Funding: One Name, Several Meanings”
Episode 3: “One Heartfelt Story Is Worth More Than Ten Features”
Episode 4: “We Are Gen Z, Launching Crowdfunding Campaigns”
Episode 5: “Is There Such a Crowdfunding Campaign? People Deeply Dedicated to a Single Cause”
Episode 6: “Is There Such a Crowdfunding Campaign? Everyone’s Own Way of Thinking About the Environment”
Episode 7: “Let’s Go on a Special Trip Through Crowdfunding”
Episode 8: “Workation: I’m Going on One Through Crowdfunding!”
Episode 10: “Showcasing Delicacies from Across the Country Through Crowdfunding!”
Episode 11: “Crowdfunding: A Dash of Excitement for Your Best Life”
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