• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.161-182
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• 2024

The study analyzed the rapidly growing food tech startup in South Korea, focusing on industry classification, core technological domains, investment stages, and growth trajectories. Utilizing the ERIS model, two innovative food tech startups, MyChef and CatchTable, were examined as case studies. Results revealed food tech startups are focusing on information technology and smart distribution technology-oriented solutions rather than traditional food production. This study also found that robotics and AI integration were key technology areas. Analyzing the emergence of food tech startups, investment stages, and cumulative investment amounts based on founding years revealed a trend of scaling operations through rounds of funding, especially after securing SERIES A and B funding. The period between 2014 and 2018 saw a dense concentration of food tech startup establishments, likely influenced by favorable conditions for technological innovation amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The high rate of strategic mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy can be interpreted as the complexity inherent in the food tech industry. The case study of MyChef, which grew into HMR manufacturing, and Wad(CatchTable), which expanded into a restaurant reservation platform, derived the entrepreneurs, resources, industry, and strategic factors that served as success factors for food tech startups. This study has practical implications in that it provides entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers in the food tech industry with insight and direction to develop strategies in line with market trends and technological changes and promote sustainable growth.