‘Minimal Camping’ and ‘Campnic’ Boom ... Food Industry Expands Lineup of Outdoor Convenience Meals

[Financial News] As “minimal camping,” enjoying the camping atmosphere with minimal gear in the fall, and “campnic” (camping + picnic) become established trends, food companies are strengthening their home meal replacement (HMR) lineups to capture camping demand. This is driven by growing consumer demand for high-quality meals that can be prepared with minimal cooking, even outdoors.
According to food industry sources on the 3rd, major food companies are strengthening their HMR lineups, making them more convenient by eliminating the need for preparation and seasoning while delivering flavors on par with specialty restaurants. As the convenience food market grows, the range of uses for these products is also expanding.
The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) estimates that the domestic HMR market grew from about 6.1 trillion won in 2023 to around 7 trillion won last year. Based on figures for 2024–2025, average monthly household spending on convenience food also rose to about 95,500 won.
Recently, consumers have had a wider range of HMR products to choose from for outdoor activities such as camping and car camping.
Harim is targeting the camping HMR market with its “Byeolmi Yori” series. These frozen convenience meals use specialty chicken cuts such as chicken shoulder and chicken neck.
After thawing, the product can be cooked in a frying pan for 10 minutes. The company said Original Dakgalbi and Jukkumi Dakgalbi come with ingredients such as sweet potato, cabbage and rice cakes, making each a hearty meal on its own. 
Those looking to enjoy dishes with a pronounced smoky flavor more easily can try Harim’s “Direct-Flame” series. The direct-flame grilled chicken neck is characterized by the tender texture and smoky flavor of a specialty cut of which there is only one piece per chicken.
Dongwon F&B’s “Yangban Bibimdeubap Sotbap” is made with 100% domestically grown rice cooked in a secret-recipe broth, with smoky flavor added by direct-flame cooking at 400°C. It is ready after three minutes in the microwave or a quick stir-fry in a pan without oil, so there is no need to wash rice or cook it separately.
Ottogi’s premium frozen pizza “Pizza Italiana” is inspired by Neapolitan-style pizza. It retains moisture in the dough and is baked briefly at a high temperature of 480°C. It can be easily prepared in a microwave, making it a good side for a camping meal or a dish to share.
An industry source said, “As the taste and quality of convenience meals improve, the range of dishes people can choose as camping food is also growing.” The source added, “Some campgrounds have convenient cooking facilities such as microwaves, so using convenience meals could reduce the effort involved in preparing food.”

[email protected] Kim Seo-yeon Reporter