By Choi Kyong-ae
SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's single-serving pizza startup GOPIZZA is in preparations for its entry into the U.S. market, while focusing on expansion in Asian markets for now, the company's chief executive has said.
GOPIZZA has advanced into six countries, all in Asia, since its foundation in 2017 to open 90 outlets and serve fast and quality pizza with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In Korea, it had 335 stores at the end of June.
"We are planning to enter the U.S. market through partnership with a local company rather than establishing a business entity as we did in several Asian countries," Jay Lim, founder and CEO of GOPIZZA, told Yonhap News Agency in a recent interview.
The company is "in talks" with potential partners in the United States over possible pilot projects to promote its single-serve, oval-type pizza products. And the details of the pilot project will likely be released within the year, he said.
This photo, taken June 27, 2024, shows Jay Lim, founder and global CEO of GOPIZZA, talking about the company's overseas business plans at the single-serving pizza firm's headquarters in Jongno, Seoul. (Yonhap)
In its preemptive efforts to enter the U.S. market, GOPIZZA completed U.S. patent registration for its AI Smart Topping Table System last year.
Each pizza is assembled on the AI Smart Topping Table, where a camera is installed overhead to swiftly identify and track pizza toppings, guiding the staff through each step of assembling the toppings. At the table, the consistency of the ingredients and its quantities are maintained through correction alerts.
It is then baked for 3 minutes in an AI-controlled GOVEN that is twice the temperature as compared to its conventional counterpart. The baked pizza lands on the GOBOT, which is designed to automatically slice the pizzas into GOPIZZA's signature shape.
All GOPIZZA stores are equipped with GOVENs but the adoption of the AI Smart Topping Table and the GOBOT depends on the condition of outlets and market demand.
The company also developed its own partially baked dough, or parbake dough, and has production facilities in Korea, India and Indonesia.
"Once we find our partners in the U.S., the pizza's size, price and kinds of topping will likely change a lot to satisfy local customers' appetites. No doubt, our motto of maximizing the accessibility of pizza will be hailed there," he said.
GOPIZZA's 450 outlets include 335 in South Korea, 50 in India, 28 in Singapore, six in Indonesia, four in Thailand, one in Japan and one in Malaysia. It expects the number to jump to over 2,500, including 2,400 here, at the end of the year.
In Korea, GOPIZZA joined hands with GS Retail Co. to install GOVEN MINI, the smaller-sized GOVEN, to serve its pizzas at the retailer's GS25 convenience stores and GS The Fresh supermarkets, while working with movie theater chain CJ CGV for pizza sales.
GOPIZZA's products are available at prices between 6,900 won and 10,900 won (US$5-8) here.
This photo, taken June 27, 2024, shows (from R) the AI Smart Topping Table, the GOVEN and the GOBOT at the outlet of GOPIZZA's global headquarters in Jongno, Seoul. (Yonhap)
This photo, taken June 27, 2024, shows a worker assembling a pizza with toppings on the AI Smart Topping Table at the outlet of GOPIZZA's global headquarters in Jongno, Seoul. (Yonhap)
In Thailand, GOPIZZA has been in talks with the Southeast Asian country's leading conglomerate, CP Group, to install its GOVEN MINIs at 15,000 7-Eleven convenience stores operated by CP, the 34-year-old CEO said.
CP Group has invested $10 million in GOPIZZA. CP is one of the investors who have invested 60 billion won in the Korean pizza company.
On top of CP's 7-Eleven outlets in Thailand, operators of convenience stores, gas stations and movie theaters in other countries could be GOPIZZA's potential clients, he said.
GOPIZZA aims to increase its overall outlets to 10,000 by 2028 based on such partnerships with domestic and overseas "partner" companies.
"We will focus on three major markets -- South Korea, India and Thailand -- for the time being to make a remarkable achievement, which is essential for our foray into the U.S. market," the executive said.
If it achieves some growth in the three nations, GOPIZZA will be able to raise funds through an initial public offering to take the next step in its expansion strategy, he said without elaborating.
Helped by robust overseas sales, GOPIZZA expects to report sales of 40 billion won this year and 100 billion won as early as next year, sharply up from 25 billion won last year.
The technology driven food company is on track to swing to a profit in its global businesses in terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, Lim said.
"Under the vision of Pizza Everywhere Company, we want to make GOPIZZA the world's most accessible pizza brand by making pizzas that are served fast like hamburgers at McDonald's," he said.
This photo, taken June 27, 2024, shows the GOVEN MINI oven at GS25 Seogang University convenience store outlet in Seoul. (Yonhap)
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