[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]
Bespoke Qooker is a multi-functional oven that can be used as a microwave oven, a grill, an air fryer and a toaster. When the cooker reads a barcode of a dedicated home meal replacement (HMR) product, it will select the right cooking course for the meal pack. More than 37,000 units have sold as of December 2021 since it was released in July 2021.
Samsung said in a statement on January 16 that the one-stop shopping platform was launched to provide consumers an integrated cooking experience when using Bespoke Qooker. Consumers can purchase ready-to-cook meal kits and instant rice manufactured by 15 partner companies including Ottogi and CJ Cheil Jedang.
Samsung also showcased a food subscription service called "My Qooker Plan Membership." When a customer spends a certain amount of money at Samsung's online food mall, the customer will be offered monthly benefits worth up to 15,000 won ($12.6). Samsung did not disclose details about the subscription fee.
"We will collaborate with many different companies and discover new services to expand the market presence of Bespoke Qooker and create a new food culture," Samsung official Hwang Tae-hwan was quoted as saying. The tech giant plans to increase the number of exclusive ready-to-cook meal packages up to 200 by the end of January 2022.
HMR products became popular in South Korea with some 6.6 million single households. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the heat-and-eat meal packs have become even more popular because grounded consumers shopped online instead of visiting crowded markets and mega-stores and found meal packs easy and convenient to eat.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
