Hy Yakult Korea transitions to logistic distribution, threatens Coupang in delivery business

Hy, a company, formerly known as Korea Yakult, is quickly transitioning and becoming a logistics distribution company. It may seem unthinkable, but it is successful in its transformation due to its vast Yakult sales network.

As Hy evolves and expands into the delivery business, The Korea Times reported that it is also becoming a threat to Coupang, which is dominating the delivery sector in South Korea. The firm that only sold and delivered Yakult products to customers in the past is now being considered a key competitor of the country’s largest e-commerce firm, as per business insiders.

The “fresh managers” at Hy are the ones that distribute daily goods to customers. They typically deliver essential items such as coffee beans, cosmetics, milk kits, razors, and more. The fresh managers were the “Yakult ladies” before, and they made deliveries using electronic carts.

It was reported that Hy delivery sales of products through this system have already surpassed the one million mark in just seven months. This is the cumulative delivery volume as of the end of November. It has become popular due to its next-day delivery services.

This is definitely a big achievement for the company since it was only in May when hy started its delivery business. It was revealed that the logistics business was carried out as a long-term project, and now the company is seeing big success.

In any case, hy developed CoCo in 2014, it is the refrigerated electric cart that they are using to distribute the yogurt drink products. It is a type that can be ridden for fast and easy transportation, and the company spent KRW15 million or about $11,574 for each cart which can run for 10 hours when fully charged.

The ones being used for its next-day deliveries are similar to the CoCo. These new carts were developed as hy started to expand its distribution centers.

"The number of products sold has exceeded 1,000. Before, our delivery was centered on fermented milk, but the biggest success factor is expanding to various product categories," an official at hy company stated. "In addition, we are dealing with fresh foods such as milk kits and salads that have recently been trending, so many customers have been utilizing our services."