Lim Sasung: "AI to Propel B2B Food Market Beyond Online Era"

An interesting outlook has emerged, predicting that the B2B food ingredient market is evolving beyond mere online transformation into an artificial intelligence (AI)-based data revolution. Lim Sa-sung, CEO of Marketboro, recently emphasized this future while presenting the '2026 Agri-Food Distribution Outlook' at the 'Agricultural Product Distribution Innovation Expo'. According to his presentation, approximately 60% of restaurant businesses already have experience purchasing food ingredients online, and with most of them making repeat purchases more than twice a month, the online transition is already accelerating. The analysis suggests that the convenience of early morning delivery, a wide range of product choices, and reasonable price competitiveness are driving this change. In particular, CEO Lim emphasized the essential characteristics of the B2B market. Unlike B2C, which targets an unspecified mass, B2B has the advantage of precisely predicting the specific products and purchase timing required by individual restaurants. Therefore, he explained that a distribution model that closely analyzes each restaurant's unique purchase patterns and real-time price fluctuation data will become the core competitiveness of the market in the future. This implies that the existing supplier-centric distribution ecosystem is transitioning to a demand-centric, and furthermore, a data-centric paradigm. In line with these changes, Marketboro is preparing to introduce innovative solutions that integrate AI technology with its vast food ingredient transaction data (approximately 12 trillion won accumulated over the past 9 years, categorized by region, industry, and menu). However, his emphasis that 'product quality,' the essential value of the food service industry, will remain the top priority, no matter how important the role of technology and data becomes, is significant. This suggests that a balanced approach, one that does not forget the essence even amidst technological advancement, will be the key to success.