Seolarae, a Traditional Korean Food Brand Made with Ingredients Selected by Herbalists

"To find out what real customers want in herbal products, we traveled around department store pop-ups and spoke face-to-face with about 5,600 customers. As a result, we are focusing on developing customized herbal foods that even consider how each ingredient needs to be "processed." Processing of herbal medicines is a traditional method used to maximize medicinal effects or reduce toxicity. By combining these processing methods with modern science, we are developing products that are optimized for modern people's constitution and lifestyle. Our herbalists carefully select the raw materials in person and transform them into the most effective form based on their properties and intended use."

Seolarae is a startup that develops herbal food products and identifies customers who like herbal medicines. It was founded in November 2021 by CEO Ji Jong-hwan (31), a clinical herbalist who graduated from the Department of Oriental Medicine at Kyunghee University.

"Seolarae is a herbal food brand created by clinical herbalists who majored in herbal medicine at Kyunghee University," said CEO Ji. "We are researching and developing herbal foods for modern people by combining herbal recipes derived from the wisdom of our ancestors with the scientific method of modern manufacturing."

"From the selection of herbal ingredients to packaging, herbalists are directly involved in the entire process. When we operated an offline herbal pharmacy and provided more detailed health counseling to patients, the repurchase rate of our herbal products increased. Our current offline counseling service has been developed in the form of artificial intelligence and chatbot to provide health counseling to more consumers. This service provides customized recommendations for herbal health products based on the findings of consultations. It also provides continuous health counseling in time with the cycle of taking herbal medicines to encourage repurchase."

Seolarae has an algorithm that recommends herbal ingredients developed by herbalists who are experts in herbal ingredients. "We recommend personalized herbal foods through a 5-minute health survey. Our herbal health products are customized for each customer. With a subscription service, you can also manage your health care consistently."

Seolarae's biggest competitive advantage lies in the expertise of its herbalists, their deep understanding of traditional formulas and the way they modernize them. In terms of branding and marketing, traditional herbal or health food products are planned and designed from a highly professional perspective. That may be the message that experts want to convey, but it can be information fatigue for consumers."

"I've been working in branding and marketing for more than 10 years, and I'm a herbalist who is an expert in herbal ingredients," said CEO Ji. "With this experience, I can plan and explain difficult herbal terms in the language of consumers from their perspective."

CEO Ji also conducts direct marketing based on his experience in running his own marketing company. "Although we also use open markets such as Naver and Coupang, we are currently focusing on our own mall. For a company that develops a brand like Seolarae, relationships and trust with customers are very important. I think all these relationships should be the foundation of CRM marketing. We launch new products through Wadiz crowdfunding and check the response from our customers. Our products have been improved with the feedback from Wadiz customers."

Seolarae currently has four team members. "Everyone on the team is full of real-world experience and has excellent skills in problem-solving," said CEO Ji. "As a startup, we're bound to face unknown problems every moment, and go through trial and error. At this point, it's not about your knowledge, it's about your willingness and approach to solve the problem. Many other CEOs still say that our organization is small compared to our revenue. But I believe that one active, problem-solving person is more powerful than 10 passive people."

"We are planning to get FDA approval for red bellflower candy in January this year, and currently plan to export it through overseas platforms such as Amazon," said CEO Ji. "We have also been selected for export vouchers and will start our first export in June."

Founded: November 2021
Key business areas: Development of herbal food
Achievements: Achieved KRW 1.5 billion in WADIZ Crowdfunding. No. 1 in the food category. Selected as a 2024 Licorn Company (Local brand). Achieved KRW 1.47 billion in annual sales in 2024. No. 1 Korean Doraji (Bellflower) candy brand. Selected as an excellent company in Seoul City. Entered Hyundai Department Store, Incheon Airport Duty-Free Shop, Welfare mall, etc. Selected as a company supplying gifts in return for Corporate and Government events. Completed the 2nd Smart Venture Startup School in 2014. Advanced to the finals of Daegu Center for Creative Economy Innovation C-LAB in 2015. Selected as a team to advance to Silicon Valley in the United States by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Received blog marketing education in 2016. Won the grand prize in the startup competition utilizing defense technology in 2019. Received an excellence award in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) startup competition in 2021.

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com