Marketboro, a Korean foodtech startup at the forefront of innovating the food distribution market, has appointed Samsung Securities as the sole lead manager for its planned KOSDAQ listing in the first half of 2027. The company has begun extensive preparations for its initial public offering (IPO), setting its sights on securing a dominant market share.
Marketboro, known for its groundbreaking ‘Marketbom’ platform, has been a key player in the digital transformation (DX) of the B2B food ingredients market. The company is also rapidly expanding its food ingredients open market ‘Sikbom’. The company aims to leverage the IPO to fuel further growth and expansion of these platforms.
Since its inception, Marketboro has demonstrated impressive growth. By the end of 2022, the company surpassed KRW 3 trillion (USD 2.16 billion) in cumulative transaction amounts through its services, reaching KRW 6 trillion (USD 4.3 billion) by January of this year and KRW 7 trillion (USD 5 billion) by June. The company’s sales figures further underscore this rapid growth trajectory; Marketboro reported KRW 14.8 billion (USD 10.7 million) in sales last year, a nine-fold increase from the previous year following a strategic shift towards full-scale sales expansion.
Company Targets Break-Even Point by Next Year
Looking ahead, Marketboro plans to surpass its break-even point (BEP) next year and aims to achieve an annual transaction volume of KRW 11 trillion (USD 7.9 billion) and sales of KRW 200 billion (USD 144 million) by 2027. The open market ‘Sikbom’ is expected to continue serving as a significant revenue driver, maintaining its high growth momentum.
In a bid to solidify its market position further, Marketboro is strengthening its collaboration with major investor CJ Freshway. The partnership will focus on establishing a B2B food material distribution fulfillment center and developing an integrated online and offline transaction platform. This initiative will enable food material distribution, manufacturing, and import companies to conduct both wholesale and retail transactions on ‘Sikbom.’
“The food distribution market is worth approximately KRW 55 trillion (USD 39 billion), and online transactions are expected to surpass offline transactions within the next three years,” said Lim Sa-seong, CEO of Marketboro. “Competition among DX platforms is fierce, but Marketboro, which possesses the largest amount of food purchase data for restaurants, is proud to be the leader in this market.”
Marketboro has attracted a total of KRW 59.7 billion (USD 43 million) in investment from CJ Freshway, Korea’s leading food distribution company, Anchor PE, and Base Investment. This financial backing underscores the confidence of investors in Marketboro’s vision and growth potential.
As Marketboro prepares for its IPO, the company remains committed to driving innovation and setting new benchmarks in the food distribution industry, poised to capture an even larger share of the market in the coming years.
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