Woowa Brothers, the operator of delivery platform Baedal Minjok (Baemin), South Korea's largest food delivery app, said Thursday it will provide 2 million plastic bags free of charge to small restaurant business owners through its food supply and delivery goods platform Baemin Sanghoe.
The move comes as rising crude oil prices driven by recent instability in the Middle East have disrupted the supply of plastic bags essential for delivery and takeout packaging. Baemin held meetings with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and small business associations to discuss on-the-ground difficulties including packaging material supply issues, which led to the emergency support initiative.
"We deeply empathize with the difficulties our restaurant partners face, and we decided to provide pre-secured plastic bags free of charge to small restaurant owners while closely communicating with suppliers to resolve the packaging material shortage," a company official said.
Baemin Sanghoe said it plans to continue working with major domestic manufacturers and distributors to ensure stable supply of plastic bags, food containers and other packaging materials, separate from this free distribution program. To this end, Baemin Sanghoe has begun diversifying its packaging material suppliers. The platform is also operating a real-time inventory monitoring system to prevent situations where orders for specific items surge and stocks run out early.
"We will closely monitor market conditions, secure essential supplies for store operations and continue providing hands-on support that delivers real help to restaurant owners," said Ko Kwang-jae, head of Baemin Sanghoe at Woowa Brothers.