Modern, founded in 2020 by CEO Yeo Chang-eun, operates smart-farm glass greenhouses producing tomatoes year-round. Deputy CEO Lim Jin-hyeok, formerly of Hanwha Group, joined the company in March last year and began shaping a broader growth strategy.
The company's main product is the functional "GABA tomato," developed in mid-2023 through collaboration with Kangwon National University. The tomatoes contain more than twice the GABA content of standard cherry tomatoes. According to the company, the increased GABA levels are achieved through cultivation management. "If you deliberately give vegetables an appropriate level of stress, they produce defensive compounds to overcome it. In that process, GABA increases. We have cultivation technology that precisely controls this physiological response," Lim said. The key distinction is "producing GABA tomatoes healthily and safely without gene editing."
Modern is expanding its portfolio of functional vegetables. On the 8th, it introduced bok choy with more than twice the glucosinolate content. Glucosinolates occur naturally in cruciferous crops such as broccoli and cabbage.
Lim stated, "If GABA tomatoes are the start of health-functional-type vegetables, we plan to expand into a variety of functional fresh vegetables going forward," adding that contract farming with growers and the company's own smart-farm footprint are increasing.
Sales rose from 1.7 billion won in 2023 to 5.6 billion won in 2024, and the company is targeting 10 billion won this year.
Modern is also operating overseas. It manages a stevia tomato sales business in Indonesia, where it purchases tomatoes, processes them to increase sweetness, and supplies more than 100 supermarkets. Lim said, "Indonesia's agricultural infrastructure is underdeveloped, making it difficult to obtain high-quality tomatoes," adding that the company is pursuing plans to build local farms with the cooperation of local governments and agricultural universities. Local cultivation is planned to launch in the second half of next year.
The company intends to expand operations across Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Vietnam. The strategy is to enter markets with stevia tomatoes and later introduce GABA tomatoes for the premium segment. Lim said, "Tomatoes are a category where consumption increases as household income rises," adding, "As incomes in Southeast Asia rise, demand for premium tomatoes is also growing rapidly." He noted, "We will build a K-tomato model that carries out everything locally from cultivation to distribution."
Lim stated, "Our goal is to achieve 100 billion won in sales by 2028," adding, "We will realize the corporatization of agriculture through advanced cultivation technology and a product strategy centered on functional crops."
Source: Chosun Biz
