Mr. Dad

Mr. Dad is a food-tech company operating an on-off integrated fresh food distribution platform, founded in June 2020 by CEO Jun-yeol Seo. Seo, who previously worked at GS Retail for 12 years, established the company to connect small-scale farmers with local small business owners, such as independent supermarkets.

The company's core business model is a "hyper-local" strategy that emphasizes local production for local consumption. This short-cut distribution model bypasses traditional wholesale markets, delivering agricultural products directly from local farms to businesses within the same region. This approach reduces delivery times by as much as 50% and lowers costs by eliminating intermediary fees, enhancing both freshness and price competitiveness. The business serves both B2B clients, like local supermarkets and restaurants, and B2C customers through its online mall and offline stores such as 'Geojesangjeom'.

Mr. Dad has shown rapid growth, with sales increasing from 300 million KRW in 2020 to 20 billion KRW in 2022 and over 40 billion KRW in 2023. The company achieved profitability within three years of its founding and has attracted approximately 9.5 billion KRW in investment. It is expanding its operations globally, forming partnerships to supply Korean agricultural products to overseas markets and developing local food brands like 'Jindo Eats'.

Keywords: food-tech, agri-food distribution, hyper-local commerce, B2B food supply, fresh food platform, farm-to-business, local food, grocery delivery, supply chain management, small farm support, Jun-yeol Seo, papamarket, K-food, agricultural logistics, restaurant suppliers, online grocery, food distribution startup, South Korea, ESG, local consumption