• Food Science and Industry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.33-38
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• 2017

One noticeable thing about the recently opened 'Starfield Hanam' and 'Hyundai Department Store (Pangyo)' is consumer's interest and positive response to their hosted food brands ranging from restaurants, dessert cafes and coffee shops. Department store and shopping complex, so-called aggregation of lifestyle are making the most out of food brands as a differentiation strategy and consumer's interest on it act as a barometer for current consumption trend. Along with the high interest on food market, changes in lifestyle, such as increasing ratio of two or less households, advent of multiple communication channels as SNS, deluge of information and gradually developing individualism, are creating needs for convenient but high quality eating culture. This need contributed in transforming the product family which was once famous as 'Instant Food' into a 'Home Meal Replacement (HMR)'. Since local food companies are striving to keep pace with the trend and actively penetrating HMR market, regardless of long-term recession, the Korean domestic food market is steadily growing with a bright future.

• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2014

HMR is a home-style food product designed for convenience and cooked outside the home leaving out cumbersome cooking process and consumed at home. The present paper aims to find out factors that influence the consumption of HMR by analyzing data on food consumption during the 3 years between December 2010 and November 2013. Following the classification of Costa et al. (2001), this study categorized HMR products as 3 types as follows: C1 (ready to eat), C2 (ready to heat) and C3 (ready to cook), and examined factors affecting purchase rate and per capita purchase price for each type of HMR product. The results of our analysis show that only the purchase rate of C3 products was influenced by whether the purchaser was housewife with job or not. For those who do not live together with parents, per capita purchase price for HMR was high; and the more they ate out, the higher the purchase rate of HMR was.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.342-352
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• 2016

Purpose: This study conducted an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of selective attributes of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) as well as it examined the consumers' needs and willingness to buy HMR products to explore the need for developing more HMR products. Methods: This study was conducted among domestic consumers living in Seoul and its metropolitan areas, in the age range from the 20s to the 50s, and who had experience in purchasing HMR products. From the 490 surveys retrieved, 472 (96.3%) valid surveys were analyzed. Results: The analysis of the frequency of consuming HMR products showed the following results: 247 respondents answered '1-3 times a month' (52.3%); 167 respondents stated '1-2 times a week' (35.3%). With respect to the reason of purchase, 'simplicity of the recipe' was the most common, accounting for 188 respondents (39.8%), followed by 'time efficiency' accounting for 172 respondents (36.4%). Analysis of the demand for bibimbap (mixed rice) HMR products showed that 'chicken bibimbap' had the highest preference with 5.32 points, followed by 'bulgogi bibimbap' (5.08 points), and 'kimchi bibimbap' (4.96 points). In the case of HMR products that need to undergo further development, 'low-sodium products' received the highest points of 5.41 points, followed by 'small packaged products' (5.05 points), and 'functional products' (4.98 points). The factor analysis of the 13 selective attributes showed that they can be divided into 3 factors. The IPA analysis of the selective attributes of HMRs showed 'hygiene', 'taste', 'easy to go packaging', 'convenience in intake', and 'accessibility' in the 1st quadrant. In the 2nd quadrant, 'price' and 'freshness' were shown as the factors. In the 3rd quadrant, 'easy to serve', 'familiar food menu', and 'consistent menu' were shown as the leading factors, and in the 4th quadrant, 'saving labor' was the only factor. Conclusion: Based on these results, the research concludes that with respect to developing HMR products, there is a high demand for low sodium, low calorie, small packaged products; thus, showing the need to develop various HMR products for customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it shows that there is a need to consider developing HMR products that can maintain freshness at an affordable price.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to assess the sugars contents of home meal replacement (HMR) products currently sold in Korea. This study surveyed and examined the sugars contents in 835 popular HMRs (294 ready-to-eat foods; RTE, 499 ready-to-cook foods; RTC, 42 fresh-cut vegetables; FCV) through the nutrition labels. The average price, weight and energy content of 835 HMR products were 3,917.5 Korean won, 336.0 g, and 522.7 kcal, respectively. The sugars content per product was significantly higher in the RTCs (13.4 g) and RTEs (10.3 g) than that in the FCVs (4.2 g) (P<0.001), and the percentage of energy from sugars was 9.7% for the RTEs, 10.2% for the RTCs, and 8.7% for the FCVs without any significant difference. The sugars contents of 9 RTE types were in the order of side dishes (34.3 g), sunsik (22.5 g) and hamburgers (12.1 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was highest in side dishes (28.1%), followed by kimchi (24.9%), sunsik (17.2%), and hamburgers (10.6%). Among 14 RTC types, the sugars contents were in the order of hot dogs (52.9 g), tteokbokki (30.4 g) and noodles (21.2 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was the highest at 22.9% for sauces, followed by side dishes (17.3%), porridges (14.4%), instant stews (14.3%), and hot dogs (13.1%). Strategies and practices are needed to reduce the sugars contents of HMR producers and the sugars intakes of HMR consumers.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.133-138
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• 2020

As HMR (home meal replacement) food market grows rapidly, a new packaging with more HMR specialized functions is highly required to promote consumers' convenience. A susceptor is defined as a material generating heat by absorbing electromagnetic energy such typically as radiofrequency or microwave radiation. In microwave cooking, susceptors are made of conductive metal thin film deposited on paper or plastic sheet and have generally been used to help crispen or brown foods by converting microwave energy into heat. This mini review article deals with current status of microwave susceptor packaging including commercial products, technical theory, types of susceptor and a test method for heating performance.

• Food Industry And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.8-12
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• 2017

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.87-103
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to analyze the food-related lifestyle choices of female baby boomers and to investigate variables regarding home meal replacement (HMR) buying behaviors and future needs. This study was conducted on 358 female baby boomers 53 years of age living in Gyeonggi and near Seoul. Out of 420 distributed questionnaires, 358 were returned and used for analysis (response rate: 85.2%). As a result of cluster analysis, three groups were identified based on the food-related lifestyles : a value-seeking group, a convenience-seeking group, and a health-seeking group. Among the three groups, there were significant differences in two socio-demographic characteristics, education level (p<0.05) and regular exercise (p<0.01), and in several health- and food-related habits, type of breakfast (p<0.01), type of dinner (p<0.05), dinner details (p<0.05), frequency of eating out (p<0.05), and eating habits score (p<0.01). The health-seeking group was significantly more likely to purchase ready to cook (RTC) items (59.1%) than were the other groups (p<0.001). However, the ratio of HMR purchasing for the purpose of meal replacement (p<0.05) and an HMR purchasing frequency of more than twice a week (p<0.001) were significantly lower in the health-seeking group. Reasons for selecting HMR showed a similar tendency among groups in taste (26.2%), convenience (18.7%), price (16.9%), safety (15.3%) and type of food (14.3%). However, the satisfaction scores for hygiene and safety reported by the health-seeking group were significantly lower than those reported by the other groups. More than two-thirds of all respondents were willing to purchase HMR in the future, though there were significant differences according to group: convenience-seeking group, 73.1%, health-seeking group, 70.1%, and value-seeking group, 65.7% (p<0.05). Our results suggest that the number of baby boomers purchasing HMR products will continue to grow and baby boomers will want HMR products to be more healthy (52.0%), safe (28.5%) and delicious (13.4%). An emphasis on taste was high in the convenience-seeking group, whereas an emphasis on health was high in the health-seeking and value-seeking groups. In conclusion, this study shows various food-related lifestyles amongst female baby boomers and illustrates the need to develop HMR marketing strategies targeted to these different lifestyles.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.934-947
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to analyze products for good taste and convenience, which become an engine to constantly create customers. In addition, this study is aimed at investigating the relationship between the selective attributes of Home Meal Replacement, the perceived utilitarian value, and the repurchase intention, and drawing new suggestions on the Home Meal Replacement market from a new marketing perspective. Based on a total of 215 samples, this study reviewed the reliability and fitness of the research model and verified a total of 5 hypothesized using the Amos program. The result of study modeling was GFI=0.905, AGFI=0.849, NFI=0.889, CFI=0.945, and RMR=0.0.092 at the level of $x^2$=230.22 (df=126, p<0.001). First, the food quality (${\beta}$=0.221), convenience (${\beta}$=0.334), packing (${\beta}$=0.278), and employee service (${\beta}$=0.204) of home meal replacement consideration attributes had a positive (+) influence on perceived utilitarian value. Second, perceived utilitarian value (${\beta}$=0.584) had a positive (+) influence on repurchase intention. The factors to differentiate one company from other competitors in terms of the utilitarian value are the quality of food, convenience, wrapping, and services by employees. This study has illustrated the need to focus on the development of a premium menu to compete with other companies and to continue to research and develop nutritious foods that are easy to cook. Moreover, the key factors to have a distinct and constant competitive edge over other companies are the alleviation of consumer anxiety over wrapping container materials, the development of more designs, and the accumulation of service know-how. Therefore, it is necessary for a company to strongly develop the key factors based on its resources as a core capability.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.588-604
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• 2023

This study was conducted to investigate whether there were differences in eco-friendly food, home meal replacement (HMR) purchases, and eating-out behavior according to the level of agri-food consumer competence. The data for the study were extracted from main food consumers (n=3,321) in the 2022 Food Consumption Behavior Survey. The competence index was divided into awareness-attitude-practice items, and three groups were classified by competence level. The results showed an agri-food consumer competency score of 70.62, with the highest score for awareness (73.96), followed by practice (69.28) and attitude (66.18). The frequency of purchasing eco-friendly food was higher in the excellent group compared to other groups, and quality and price satisfaction was higher with higher competency (p<0.001). Regarding HMR, the results showed that the shortage group had the lowest HMR consumption rate, and satisfaction decreased as competence decreased (p<0.001). The main reason for eating-out was to enjoy food in all groups (59.0%), followed by a lack of cooking time in the excellent group (15.7%) and hassle with food preparation in the moderate and shortage groups (17.3%, 16.6%) (p<0.001). In short, agri-food consumption competency showed differences by contents and components, and differences in food purchases and eating-out behavior by competency level were found.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2023

This study was conducted to explore the change in the market issues on HMR (Home Meal Replacements) using local foods after the COVID-19 outbreak. Online text data were collected from internet news, social media posts, and web documents before (from January 2016 to December 2019) and after (from January 2020 to November 2022) the COVID-19 outbreak. TF-IDF analysis showed that 'Trend', 'Market', 'Consumption', and 'Food service industry' were the major keywords before the COVID-19 outbreak, whereas 'Wanju-gun', 'Distribution', 'Development', and 'Meal-kit' were main keywords after the COVID-19 outbreak. The results of topic modeling analysis and categorization showed that after the COVID-19 outbreak, the 'Market' category included 'Non-face-to-face market' instead of 'Event,' and 'Delivery' instead of 'Distribution'. In the 'Product' category, 'Marketing' was included instead of 'Trend'. Additionally, in the 'Support' category, 'Start-up' and 'School food service' appeared as new topics after the COVID-19 outbreak. In conclusion, this study showed that meaningful change had occurred in market issues on HMR using local foods after the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, governments should take advantage of such market opportunity by implementing policy and programs to promote the development and marketing of HMR using local foods.