Hyundai Green Food has opened an in-house cafe at an overseas contract food service site for the first time. The strategy is to transplant its proven South Korean model of bundling cafeteria and in-house cafe operations abroad, simultaneously boosting contract-winning competitiveness and revenue.
According to industry sources on the 19th, Hyundai Green Food opened the in-house cafe last month at a South Korean auto parts supplier’s factory within Kia’s plant complex in Monterrey, Mexico. This marks the first time Hyundai Green Food has taken on in-house cafe operations at an overseas contract food service location.
Hyundai Green Food entered the local contract food service market in 2016 when it took over the cafeteria at Kia’s Monterrey plant. The cafe is located at a separate site that the company newly won. The cafe sells seven coffee varieties, four non-coffee drinks, and two types of cake including cheese and chocolate. It sells an average of about 200 cups per day, with roughly one in three factory employees reportedly visiting the cafe daily.
The company is also considering adding menu items popular in South Korea, such as brown sugar lattes and smoothies, to cater to local preferences for sweet flavors.
The ‘Cafeteria + In-House Cafe’ Model Goes Overseas
This move is significant in that it extends the proven South Korean “cafeteria + in-house cafe” approach overseas. As companies place greater emphasis on employee welfare and convenience, in-house cafes have emerged as a differentiating factor in winning contracts. Among the domestic contract food service sites Hyundai Green Food has newly secured over the past five years, 35% operate an in-house cafe alongside the cafeteria.
In-house cafes also account for a meaningful share of revenue. The culture of enjoying a beverage after a meal has taken hold, and cafes benefit from high utilization rates due to their proximity to cafeterias and low price burden. Industry estimates suggest that operating a cafeteria and in-house cafe together boosts site revenue by approximately 15%.
Competitors such as Samsung Welstory and Ourhome have also been expanding their service scope by introducing in-house cafes at domestic and overseas contract food service sites.
‘Cafe Greeting’ Brand Expansion Overseas
Hyundai Green Food plans to sequentially introduce in-house cafes at its other overseas sites. The company aims to apply its integrated “Cafe Greeting” brand, which it has been developing domestically, to overseas operations, creating a structure that offers everything from meals to beverages and desserts in one place.
The company is progressively replacing signage at approximately 140 domestic in-house cafes with the Cafe Greeting brand and aims to expand to more than 180 locations within three years.
A Hyundai Green Food representative said, “The model of operating a cafeteria and in-house cafe together is a proven approach that has boosted employee satisfaction in South Korea. By adding locally tailored menus and operational know-how, we will demonstrate the competitiveness of K-contract food service overseas.” The representative added, “Building on this first case, we will accumulate expertise in K-beverage development and menu localization to expand the number of overseas sites operating in-house cafes.”