Shop with AI, and AI Employees Clock In Too—AI Is Reshaping the Food Industry Landscape

[Financial News] Food companies are accelerating efforts to transform their businesses by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology. They are moving beyond basic factory automation and applying AI across the value chain—from new product planning and marketing to e-commerce, supply chain management (SCM), and improved productivity in internal operations—to strengthen their competitiveness.
According to industry sources on the 28th, food companies are expanding their use of AI beyond simple document creation and searches into key business areas that can boost productivity and profitability.
Pulmuone has taken the lead in applying generative engine optimization (GEO) to its official online store, '#Pulmuone,' creating an environment where AI can easily find and understand product information. GEO strengthens a website's information structure and content so that generative AI can more easily locate and comprehend its website content and product details.
After GEO was implemented, usage and purchase-related metrics for '#Pulmuone' improved significantly. A comparison of four months of data before and after the implementation, conducted as of April 1, showed that visitor numbers increased 2.3 times and the number of purchases rose 7.4 times. Pulmuone is also considering introducing an AI shopping agent that can search for products and assist with purchases.
Food companies targeting global markets are also accelerating the globalization of K-food through AI-driven business innovation. CJ CheilJedang has launched 'Food AI 360,' the industry's first AI platform supporting everything from real-time trend analysis to marketing, product planning and development, and consumer response simulations.
The platform is an AI-based marketing intelligence solution that integrates and advances the existing workflow—from trend identification and concept development and evaluation to market response monitoring—on a single platform. After being introduced to its domestic business divisions in June last year, the United States was selected as the second country for deployment, which was completed in late June.
CJ CheilJedang plans to introduce 'Food AI 360' sequentially in major regions, including Japan and Europe, to expand its AI-based marketing intelligence system globally.
Dongwon Group has assigned first-cohort AI employees to each of six major affiliates, including Dongwon Industries, Dongwon F&B, and Dongwon Home Food. Through these AI employees, the group has established a system capable of providing seamless support for sales operations, safety management, logistics dispatch, and other tasks at sites and during hours where it is difficult to have people stationed.
AI adoption is also active in manufacturing and quality control. Nongshim is building its Busan Noksan export-only plant, scheduled for completion in October, as an AI-based smart factory. AI will assess packaging print quality and identify defects, while big data will be used to predict and manage potential irregularities during the production process.
However, refining data quality to prevent misjudgments by AI algorithms and establishing a complementary collaboration system with existing researchers are considered key challenges that will determine future competitiveness.
An industry official said, "In the food industry, AI adoption is becoming a key growth engine that is transforming the nature of businesses—not only by reducing costs, but also by enabling market forecasting and expanding customer touchpoints."
[email protected] Kim Seo-yeon Reporter