Baedal Minjok (Baemin) is strengthening cooperation with franchise brands. Amid controversy over its exclusive listing partnership model, 'Baemin Only', the company is seen as adjusting its strategy toward broadening cooperation with brands rather than focusing on exclusive listing models.

According to industry sources on April 23, Woowa Brothers, Baemin's operator, signed a strategic business agreement, or MOU, on April 21 with Jangs Food, which runs 60gye Chicken and Stella Tteokbokki, to boost franchisee sales and strengthen brand competitiveness. The agreement includes advertising, promotions, exclusive new menu launches and pickup.

In particular, Woowa Brothers actively publicised the strategic agreement, unlike in the past, and put its cooperation with the brand front and centre. While previous promotions largely had the nature of individual events, this time it highlighted the cooperation strategy itself with the franchise operator.

The delivery app industry typically works with individual brands on promotional tie-ups to attract users and increase orders. Baemin has also continued collaborations with brands including Mexicana, KFC and Gong Cha through exclusive menus and early releases, and joint promotions. More recently it launched an exclusive menu, 'Chifilling', with Mexicana, and in December last year it released early a collaboration menu tied to KFC and Netflix content 'Stranger Things'.

The industry sees this as Baemin sending a message that it will maintain and strengthen broader relationships with franchises. The view is that it is a strategy to deepen alignment with brands through a cooperation structure that goes beyond simple marketing tie-ups to include advertising strategy, planning exclusive new menus, membership and pickup.

In particular, the background to Woowa Brothers strengthening cooperation with brands is seen as linked to the impact of Baemin Only, Baemin's exclusive franchise listing model. Baemin Only is a partnership model in which a franchise stops listing on other delivery apps and lists only on Baemin, in return for lower brokerage fees and promotions. Baemin signed a strategic business agreement in February with Korea 153, operator of Cheogajip Seasoned Chicken, that included Baemin Only.

Baemin Only is a new partnership model that emerged as competition in South Korea's delivery platform market intensified. But it has faced controversy from the start of the service following objections about exclusive dealing and limits on the choices of store owners and consumers.

Friction also surfaced with the Cheogajip Seasoned Chicken franchisees' council. At the time, the council reported Woowa Brothers and the franchiser Korea 153 to the Fair Trade Commission. It said the MOU related to Baemin Only signed by Baemin and the franchiser amounted to unfair trade practices, including abuse of market dominance, exclusive dealing and a deceptive fee settlement method.

Woowa Brothers countered that franchisees can choose whether to participate at any time and that there is no disadvantage to franchisees, but the gap between franchisees and Baemin and its headquarters did not narrow.

The industry sees Woowa Brothers as shifting its focus to relatively flexible cooperation-based partnerships rather than aggressively expanding a strong exclusivity-based model amid the controversy. In practice, Baemin's latest cooperation strategy is viewed as a way to deepen alignment with brands while relatively reducing the burden of exclusivity controversy.

From the perspective of franchise headquarters as well, the assessment is that it could be an alternative to exclusive listing on a specific platform that reduces pushback from store owners and regulatory risk while seeking sales effects.

The industry is watching whether Woowa Brothers' move will lead to changes in how delivery apps and franchises cooperate in the future.

A Woowa Brothers official said exclusive marketing cooperation methods have been used before. The official said it has recently been building cooperation models across a wider range, including pickup orders and discounts, as well as exclusive menus. The official said it plans to form such cooperative relationships with other brands in the future.