Consumers in Seoul can now use the Yindii app to buy quality food left unsold by participating hotels, cafés, bakeries and restaurants at discounts of at least 50%.

Customers reserve and pay for a “Surprise Bag” through the app, then collect it from the participating business during a designated pickup window. The contents vary depending on what remains available that day and may include breads, pastries, cakes, desserts, sandwiches, prepared meals and other products normally sold by the business.

Every Surprise Bag is offered at 50% or more off its original retail value, giving consumers an affordable way to discover quality food while helping prevent perfectly good food from being discarded.

South Korea is Yindii’s fourth market after Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Since launching in 2020, Yindii has rescued more than 1.2 million meals, helped prevent approximately 2,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and enabled participating businesses to recover more than US$5.3 million in value from surplus food.

Across its existing markets, Yindii has worked with participating outlets operating under recognised names including Dunkin’, Tous les Jours and hotels within the Accor network.

In Seoul, participating locations include Jardin d’Hiver at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul, Artisee, Super Kitchen, Guillaume Bakery and Gontran Cherrier. Selected independently operated franchise branches under Tous les Jours, A Twosome Place and Paris Baguette are also offering Surprise Bags through Yindii.

Yindii plans to expand across Seoul and other parts of South Korea, bringing more hotels, cafés, bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets and food retailers onto the platform.

Early customers welcome the savings and variety

Early customers in South Korea have responded positively to both the value and the changing selection available through Yindii.

With every Surprise Bag sold at least 50% off, customers can enjoy a generous variety of products for half the usual retail price or less.

One customer wrote in a five-star Yindii review translated from Korean: Friday nights call for bread. Being able to enjoy such a wide variety of delicious bread at an affordable price feels like happiness. From chestnut bread and croissants to various new bakery products, it made for a wonderful Friday night. The staff is always friendly, and the bread is consistently delicious.

Another repeat customer said receiving a different selection on each visit was part of the appeal, describing a generously filled Surprise Bag containing cream-cheese walnut bread, sausage pizza bread, soboro bread and a fruit-jam pastry.

For customers, every Surprise Bag is more than a discount. It is a simple way to save money, discover good food and help protect the planet by making sure food that has already been prepared is enjoyed rather than discarded.

A practical solution for food businesses

Participating businesses decide how many Surprise Bags to offer each day and set their own collection windows. Quantities can be adjusted depending on what actually remains, allowing merchants to use Yindii without changing their normal production or store operations.

Kang Jun-mo, Owner of Tous les Jours Yeoksam said, “At Tous les Jours Yeoksam, we prepare fresh products every day, so it can be difficult to predict exactly what and how much will be left at closing. With Yindii, we can turn those remaining products into Surprise Bags and sell them instead of throwing them away, generating additional revenue in the process. We’ve also seen customers who first discovered us through Yindii come back and become regulars.”

These customer and merchant experiences reflect what Yindii calls its Win-Win-Win model: consumers enjoy quality food at lower prices, businesses generate additional revenue from products that might otherwise remain unsold and gain exposure to new customers, while the planet benefits when food that has already been produced is eaten rather than wasted.

A global problem with a major cost in Korea

Around 30% of food produced globally is lost or wasted each year, making food loss and waste one of the world’s major environmental and economic challenges. It is also responsible for an estimated 8% to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. (FAO / UNEP)

The issue also carries a substantial economic cost in South Korea. The Korea Rural Economic Institute has estimated the economic cost associated with domestic agricultural and food waste at approximately KRW 20 trillion. (KREI Repository (https://repository.krei.re.kr/bitstream/2018.oak/27864/1/R933%20%281%29.pdf))

For hotels, cafés, bakeries, restaurants and food retailers, the financial loss begins before disposal. When food remains unsold, businesses may lose the ingredients, labour, energy, packaging and operating costs already invested in it, as well as the revenue it could have generated. Handling and disposing of the food can create further costs.

Yindii helps intervene before food reaches that stage, giving businesses an opportunity to generate revenue from suitable remaining products while they can still be safely enjoyed.

Louis-Alban Batard-Dupré, Co-founder and CEO of Yindii said, “Korea is our fourth market, and we are arriving with a model that has already helped rescue more than 1.2 million meals,”

He went on to say, “The idea is simple. Consumers get good food at a better price, businesses generate revenue from food they have already prepared, and together we prevent it from becoming waste. It is a Win-Win-Win for consumers, businesses and the planet.”

He added, “South Korea already has strong awareness around separating and recycling food waste. With Yindii, we want to take action one step earlier by helping prevent good food from being discarded in the first place.”

Korean creators invited to become Food Heroes

As part of its launch, Yindii is inviting Korea-based KOLs, influencers and content creators to join the fight against food waste and encourage smarter, more affordable food consumption.

Yindii is particularly interested in creators covering food, cafés, value-for-money discoveries, lifestyle and sustainability. Selected creators will experience Surprise Bags from participating locations and show consumers how rescuing food can become an easy, affordable and rewarding everyday habit.

Rather than simply promoting another app, participating creators will join Yindii’s Food Heroes community and help build the food-rescue movement in South Korea.

Creators interested in becoming Food Heroes can contact marketing@yindii.app.

Consumers can download the Yindii app from the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for “Yindii (인디)”.

Hotels, cafés, bakeries, restaurants and food retailers interested in joining Yindii can contact partnership-kr@yindii.app.

About Yindii

Yindii is a surplus-food marketplace connecting consumers with quality unsold food from hotels, bakeries, cafés, restaurants, supermarkets and other food businesses. Consumers purchase Surprise Bags at discounts of at least 50%, while participating businesses generate additional revenue from remaining food and reduce avoidable food waste. Founded in 2020, Yindii operates in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. Its South Korean operations are managed by Watawaste Korea Co., Ltd.

언론연락처: Yindii Mahima Rajangam Natarajan

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