[Edaily Reporter Shin Su-jeong] #Pulmuone is set to test new business ventures in sustainable eating by leveraging its group catering, foodservice, and culinary school operations. The company plans to first trial new business models—such as plant-based menus, low-carbon diets, and healthy meals—at actual customer touchpoints before expanding them into products and services. This move is seen as a strategic step to broaden its business structure, which has traditionally centered on food manufacturing and distribution, to encompass all aspects of daily life, including meal planning, education, foodservice, and wellness.

According to the food industry on the 17th, Pulmuone is identifying new business models related to sustainable eating habits, led by the New Growth SBU (Strategic Business Unit), which reports directly to the CEO. The New Growth SBU is an organization dedicated to exploring new business opportunities beyond existing operations; its role is to drive new ventures based on Pulmuone’s brands, distribution networks, R&D, and customer touchpoints.

The key is that new businesses are not merely reviewed on paper but are first validated in actual business settings. Pulmuone plans to utilize its sustainable food lifestyle business, “Tasty Pulmuone,” and its institutional catering and foodservice operations as channels for demonstrating and scaling up new business models. For example, plant-based menus, menus using animal-welfare-certified ingredients, and low-carbon meal plans can first be introduced at institutional food service locations to gauge customer response; menus that receive a positive response can then be expanded into ready-to-eat meals or restaurant menus.

Foodservice operations can also serve as test beds. The structure involves introducing sustainable dining menus at foodservice outlets and analyzing sales volume, repurchase rates, and customer reviews to assess commercial viability. Whereas the conventional approach was to develop new products and then launch them directly into the market, the company will increasingly prioritize testing, selling, and gauging customer reactions in institutional and foodservice settings before commercializing them.

“Tasty Pulmuone,” Korea’s first culinary school dedicated to sustainable eating, is also expected to serve as a key hub. Tasty Pulmuone is a space where consumers can directly experience plant-based diets, healthy meals, and sustainable cooking methods. Pulmuone views this not merely as an educational space but as a platform that can be expanded in the future to include educational content, classes, and corporate partnership programs.

The New Growth SBU will also serve as a liaison with external companies. When existing business units require external expertise, it will function as a hub that connects them with startups through open innovation. This approach involves seeking collaboration partners in areas requiring external technology or services, such as senior meal plans, pet food, wellness products, and kitchen appliances.

The scope of new businesses Pulmuone is considering extends beyond food to lifestyle sectors such as wellness, senior care, home appliances, and pet products. However, rather than indiscriminately broadening its business scope, the company uses alignment with “sustainable eating habits” as its core criterion. “Sustainable eating” is a concept that extends beyond sustainable food—which focuses on plant-based options and animal welfare—to encompass dietary habits as a whole. Pulmuone explains that it refers to a way of eating that considers both individual health and the global environment.

The shift to AI is also being utilized as a foundation for identifying new business opportunities. Pulmuone plans to use the analysis of consumer and market data as a common foundation to simultaneously secure new business opportunities and innovate the business models of existing ventures. This approach allows the company to analyze preferences for institutional meal menus, sales responses to restaurant menus, and feedback from cooking school students, and incorporate these insights into new product development and meal planning.

However, specific commercialization outcomes or sales targets have not yet been disclosed. This year marks a phase focused on identifying ideas through internal venture programs and external collaborations, and evaluating their commercial viability.

A Pulmuone official stated, “The New Growth SBU is operated with the goal of securing mid- to long-term growth engines rather than contributing to short-term revenue,” adding, “We are managing diversification of the business portfolio and strengthening synergies between business units as key performance indicators.”