Shinsegae Food: how its people are moving

Banseog note · Oct 24, 2026

Shinsegae Food — Handing off catering and rebuilding around bread and burgers

Where it stands now

Reorganization — shifting to bakery and B2B after selling the catering business and becoming a wholly owned E-Mart subsidiary

It sold its catering division (2024 revenue KRW 275.4 billion, about 18% of the total) to Gourmet de Galleria, an Ourhome subsidiary, for about KRW 120 billion (contract 2025-08-28, transfer date 2025-11-28). Through a tender offer and share exchange, E-Mart made Shinsegae Food a 100% subsidiary on 2026-07-23, and its shares were delisted.

On Korea's National Pension Service public workplace data, 1,978 people were on the pension register in August 2026, 1,137 fewer (−36.5%) than in October 2025. This coincides with the catering division moving to Gourmet de Galleria at the end of November 2025, so most of the decrease appears to be catering staff moving to another entity. The exact number transferred has not been disclosed.

Q1 2026 revenue was KRW 309.4 billion (+3.5%) and operating profit KRW 3.4 billion (−20%). The 2026 revenue target is KRW 1.245 trillion, of which bakery is KRW 570 billion (about 46%). The debt ratio fell from 184% at the end of 2024 to 124% in March 2026.

Three decisions within a year

1. Incheon bakery plant: the functions of the roughly 500-pyeong Seongsu plant are moving to a roughly 2,000-pyeong (4x) Incheon plant. Refurbishment and expansion began in September 2026, with full production targeted for September 2027, making cakes, desserts and sandwiches. The 2028 bakery revenue target is KRW 700 billion.
2. Frozen bakery and B2B: 5 million units (+195%) of the frozen sandwich 'Vecchia e Nuovo' were sold in 2025, supplied to Coupang, Kurly and Traders. It has said it will invest step by step in manufacturing infrastructure, process automation and B2B product lines, but has not disclosed the scale or timing.
3. Leadership and franchising: in the group appointments of 2025-09-26, Lim Hyung-seop, head of B2B (with a purchasing and logistics background), was named CEO. No Brand Burger is expanding franchising with small 15-pyeong stores that cut start-up costs by a further 15%, aiming to be third in the burger industry by 2030.

Three people it will look for

1. Bakery production and quality leaders — preparing for the Incheon plant to start in September 2027 and the move from Seongsu
2. B2B sales and product development — frozen bakery, expanding supply to e-commerce and group affiliates (E-Mart, Starbucks)
3. Franchise development and franchisee management — rolling out small No Brand Burger stores

For HR

With the catering staff gone, the remaining organization centers on manufacturing, B2B and franchising. Now, one year before the Incheon plant starts, it is best to settle production and quality leaders first and plan the relocation of Seongsu staff at the same time.

For job seekers

Experience building high-volume bakery or frozen food production lines, or in B2B sales to retailers, fits Shinsegae Food's current direction.

A reading written from public sources. Sources: Coverage of the catering division transfer contract (2025-08-28) and completion (2025-11-28), 2026 regular executive appointments (2025-09-26), E-Mart tender offer (2025-12 to 2026-01) and share exchange completion (2026-07-23), Q1 2026 results (2026-07-15 and 07-30 coverage), Incheon plant and bakery targets (2026-07-02 and 07-08 coverage). Team size is from Korea's pension register.