[Platum] "Giving Consumers the Power to Choose Taste" - A New Challenge for a Founder of 10 Failures and 11 Attempts: A Data-Driven 'Gourmet Meat Shop'
- Deeplant
- Sep 26
- 10 min read
Business is said to be about numbers, but numbers alone don't lead to the destination of success. What creates results in business isn't numbers, but goals, beliefs, and philosophy. The hundreds of startup founders I've met so far have all spoken of their own reasons and missions. While no two people gave the same reason, there was a common thread among them—something like an 'instinct' that's hard to define in a single word. Kim Cheol-beom, CEO of Deeplant, is a person with such an instinct.
I first met CEO Kim Cheol-beom in 2013. At the time, he was the CEO of a leading e-book startup. It was surprising when he casually mentioned in 2019, after leaving his previous venture, that he was starting an aged meat business. It seemed to have no connection to his business history. After a two-year preparation period, I met with CEO Kim, who launched his business this year, at the Deeplant headquarters in Goyang City.
It's been a while. When we met in 2013, you were the CEO of an e-book startup. I remember your business was well-regarded. As the environment shifted to LTE, consumer patterns fluctuated greatly, and we failed to adapt to mobile. We tried to find a breakthrough by creating our own content, but ultimately, we failed.
You started your first company in 1999, which makes you a first-generation venture entrepreneur. The e-book business was your ninth startup.
My first startup, 22 years ago, was an item for creating internet web pages. After that, I supplied waterproof cases to a large corporate affiliate and special equipment to government agencies. I developed an aptitude for manufacturing, and in 2003, I ambitiously launched a pet dryer.
I often hear that it would do well if I launched it now. (laughs) However, the economy was bad in 2003-2004. It was a time when many people were giving up their pets, so a product in the 100,000 KRW range wasn't competitive.
After that, I went to the United States, acquired a franchise branch, and ran it for two years. The next thing I did was the e-book business. After closing the e-book business, I ran a network-based education business. This current startup, which I began in 2019 at the age of fifty, is my 11th challenge.
So you became a middle-aged entrepreneur. It must have felt different from being in your 20s and 40s.
Forcing middle-aged people into a framework designed for young people is less effective.
A common concern for middle-aged entrepreneurs is that they don't know how to take the first step. I had the opportunity to mentor middle-aged entrepreneurs and realized that a conventional approach wouldn't work.
Many are not aware of the so-called "Lean" method. A significant number of applicants approach it with a merchant's mindset rather than a business concept, and the ideas themselves are often out of touch with recent trends.
There are also quite a few cases where they use brokers to submit their business plans. Some prepare documents to be eligible for government support, rather than focusing on their area of expertise. Such supported businesses lack sustainability, so they just meet the minimum requirements to avoid having to return the funds and then shut down. Support programs for the middle-aged must be completely different from those for the youth.
In particular, pre-training is necessary. Targeting those who have undergone such training would proceed more smoothly. I hope it becomes a method that considers ways to utilize the experience of the middle-aged and pass it on to future generations.
Did you meet with investors before this startup? In the industry, an honorable failure is considered a badge of honor. What investors persistently ask a founder who has failed and is trying again is what they learned from that failure.
To get straight to the point, I received a 300 million KRW angel investment. Someone who tried our aged meat as a gift came to find me, tried it one more time, and made a quick decision.
The funds were transferred within two weeks, and we received a good valuation. However, there's been no response from VCs (Venture Capital) yet. While preparing the business, I sent business plans to most of the VCs in Korea, but they were all rejected. Most of the replies were rejections, and many didn't respond at all.
There could be various reasons, but I'm sure my age was a factor. (laughs) That said, I haven't given up on VC investment. I believe that if we can achieve more detailed hypothesis verification at our offline store, it will serve as the basis for the next round of investment.
How did you go about team-building for this startup?
I found my team members from close circles, but I am working with very capable people. For example, the company's director, Seo Jeong-geun, is someone I volunteered with at church for a year. We worked well together during that time, so I eagerly recruited him. Director Seo used to run a large business of his own in the film industry. Outside the company, people I formed connections with in my previous startups have been a great help in terms of investment and technology. I am grateful to all of them.
Your previous startups were mostly in manufacturing and ICT. What was the background for choosing aged meat as a startup item?
The preparation also took two years. The meat and livestock sector has seen changes in distribution, but its essence hasn't changed much. There are no data utilization methods. In particular, there was the problem that consumers couldn't choose their meat. In the market, the standard for meat taste is set by the industry and restaurants.
It's a system where consumers are offered what suits the producer's palate, like with traditional doenjang (soybean paste) and soy sauce.
I believe consumers should be able to choose the meat they find delicious at any time.
That is our direction and our goal. I thought this could be categorized through aging technology, so I conducted research and materialized three distinct grades where the taste was clearly divided.
We've been building up such data for two years to develop the business's viability. We've accumulated a lot of case studies, but there's still much that is lacking.
You grade and sell by taste, not price.
We are trying to create a grading system chosen by the consumer, not by the state. We have faith that this is what good meat is.
Is that why the offline store you recently opened is named 'Delish Meat'?
Delish Meat is our store name and also our brand name. We aim to be a 'Mi-yuk-jeom (味肉店),' a gourmet meat shop that sells delicious meat based on research and data. At our headquarters' processing plant, all meat is aged and cut based on data, then individually skin-packaged and sold as fresh meat, processed meat, marinated meat, and ready-to-eat meals.
The store concept is that of a "dark store," where consumers can see, select, and immediately take the products. We've also enabled delivery and pickup in the area where the headquarters and store are located.
Many butcher shops have opened since the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's because the barrier to entry is low. Usually, 3-4 people start one, and each person earns about 3-4 million KRW per month. In terms of revenue, it's an attractive industry, but its development has been minimal. Existing butcher shops don't really sell based on a grading system. For beef, the grade goes up as long as it has a lot of fat. At some point, people came to perceive that meat with a lot of marbling is good meat. This is not a wise way of eating, and it has led to the cruel breeding of livestock. Since the price at which the meat is sold differs based on the presence of marbling, cattle are fed imported corn feed intensively for several months. Corn is just a lump of sugar, isn't it? Because consumers look for heavily marbled meat, farmers have no choice but to do this. The meat grading standards are different in every country. A prime-grade cut of meat from the U.S. can only receive a second grade here in Korea. For pork, in particular, there are many disagreements in the industry regarding the grading system.
In the livestock market, prices vary widely depending on the cut and grade of meat. What is the price range of Deeplant's products? One of the problems in Korea's livestock market is that the price balance for different cuts is off. You can think of most of the price of a whole pig carcass as being the price of the pork belly. Cuts other than pork belly and pork neck are treated as secondary. We are making efforts to reasonably balance the prices by increasing the added value through aging and marinating. We receive the raw meat at a good price in consultation with the processing plant and only add the cost of aging. Our partner, who has 30 years of experience in Majang-dong (a famous meat market), supplies us with perfect raw meat. It's also antibiotic-free meat. It's butchered at a reliable place, processed the same day, and delivered immediately. Our prices are lower than products sold in department stores, and slightly higher than at a regular butcher shop because of the extensive processing involved. Our goal this year is to make non-preferred cuts well and achieve an overall price balance.
Why is data necessary and important for this business?
You can think of it as data that allows us to eat our food wisely. Based on that, we use aging to broaden the consumer's range of choices. As the technology develops further, products that are easier to digest will be possible, and eventually, even cultured meat. As part of this, we plan to release care food products for seniors and infants. The goal is to allow everyone to choose, from those who like the standard taste of meat to those who prefer a deep flavor. Usually, meat becomes tough and tasteless when it cools down, but our product does not. I am confident in that aspect. We've even heard advice from experts that if we can produce this level of taste, we should open a barbecue restaurant. (laughs) Of course, we are not yet technologically perfect. We are doing something new while overcoming our shortcomings.
This isn't a business you can start just because you have an idea. You need to have the equipment and procure the meat.
I benefited from the government's startup support. Being selected for the preliminary startup package for the middle-aged allowed me to verify my idea. We built aging equipment and tested various methods, including those described in research papers and our own ideas. I had an acquaintance who runs a processing farm, so I loaded up the equipment and went all the way to Jeju Island. After the idea verification was complete, we were selected for the re-challenge startup package, which enabled us to set up a factory facility and sell to consumers. This business requires space. We currently have 1.8 tons in storage, which is enough to supply one store. So we are planning an expansion this year.
You sell a product that extracts flavor from protein. It's a fundamental question, but is aged meat also good for your health?
The taste of meat as we generally know it comes from fat. Marbling also refers to the layers of fat. However, from a health perspective, protein is better than fat. The more fat you eat, the higher the incidence of colorectal cancer. When you age protein, amino acids are released, creating an umami flavor. According to consumer test results, you can eat a lot of protein-aged meat and still feel comfortable without it being heavy on your stomach. That's not to say we're claiming all aged meat is delicious. Taste is a matter of personal preference.
You have equipment at the headquarters that incorporates a patent. What kind of patent is it?
It's an aging machine that controls water pressure, ultrasonic waves, and temperature. We are preparing the next model that will introduce changes to the aging method.
Even with aging, meat has a shorter shelf life than other products. How do you forecast demand?
So far, it's based on gut feeling grounded in preliminary research. I visited all the local butcher shops and conducted interviews to understand their sales and current status. I needed to know that to make predictions.
You're also selling online, but the current issue is the cold chain. Even if you send it in a styrofoam box with lots of ice packs, there are still temperature changes. Aged products can spoil if the temperature fluctuates too much, so we are being cautious. The risk is lower in winter, but we haven't experienced summer yet, so we are approaching it conservatively. To overcome this, packing and the cold chain must be resolved, which incurs additional costs. A sudden influx of many orders is also not a good thing from a quality management perspective. We are considering a reservation system. To reduce risk, we are currently operating on a local basis and aiming for delivery within 4 hours. One of the biggest reasons we opened an offline store was the intention to do deliveries. But we won't do it in a haphazard way; we will develop a delivery system for real-time monitoring. We will also introduce vehicle sensors to let consumers know the temperature at which their ordered meat is being delivered via their mobile phones.
You can't ignore online if you want to sell a lot of products.
That's one of the tasks left for us. Because aging takes time, if we get a lot of online orders, there's a limit to the volume we can handle. Making consumers wait a certain amount of time through a reservation system might be acceptable, but making them wait too long is not a good experience from their perspective. We are cautiously approaching this, contemplating what would be most efficient. Word-of-mouth is a good method. We had a case where one customer who tried our product brought in 30 more. There are also many instances where people tell others to go to us when buying meat. For now, we are keeping publicity to a minimum and observing the trend. This is an area where we need a bit more experience.
It seems like it would be good as a franchise.
I'm thinking about it. Some people have already said they want to open the second store. (laughs) Actually, if we put our minds to it, I think we could expand quickly. We could differentiate the taste of meat like Starbucks does with coffee. But there's a lot to do to ensure that the quality of products and services is provided uniformly. We need to explain the product, and people need to understand the aging process. I'm considering it.
You've just started the main business. Could you share your thoughts?
The process of creating a new method is enjoyable and exciting. As expected, the biggest source of strength is the consumer response. The repurchase rate one month after the first purchase is close to 80%. There's nothing that feels better than realizing that our ideas were not wrong. We are trying to make sure the consumer experience does not decline. And we hope to have a positive influence on the livestock market.
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