Domestic food-care specialist Medisola has entered the core of the Hong Kong distribution market, opening the first export route for Korean special medical-purpose meal-type foods. It is significant in that care food, which had been confined to hospital catering or limited channels, has expanded its presence into the global retail market.

Medisola announced on the 18th that it has signed an exclusive contract with its local Hong Kong partner, Eatable Group, and will begin sales at a total of 59 offline locations, including 33 stores of Watsons and 26 stores of PARKnSHOP, the largest distribution channels in the local market. This entry goes beyond simple volume supply and represents the first case of introducing Korea’s medical data and nutrition design system in their entirety to an overseas market.

The brand has built its own precision-nutrition research capabilities over the past eight years through collaboration with medical staff at university hospitals and nutrition experts. This is evidenced by the publication of around 30 papers in SCI-level international journals and a track record of supplying more than 24,000 clinical meal plans. In particular, it has put forward as its core competitive edge a Korean-style Mediterranean design principle that sets the ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat at 5:2:3 and optimizes the ratio of omega fatty acids.

The key strategy for the company’s entry into Hong Kong is to deliver brand value and clinical evidence in an integrated manner. Moving away from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) or simple label-switching methods, it has adopted a structure that maintains Medisola’s identity while establishing itself in the local market. A differentiated element is the implementation of a distribution model in which patient meals meet consumers directly at general retail outlets outside hospitals.

The operating model differs by distribution channel. At Watsons, Medisola will run an online–offline integrated model that connects health consultation services to online ordering and delivery after consultation. It will prioritize diabetes and cancer care meal plans first, and plans to later expand the range to include meal plans for patients with kidney disease. PARKnSHOP will focus on a preventive lineup for everyday health management, testing the potential for the popularization of care food.

Lee Don-gu, CEO of Medisola, assessed that this market entry will serve as a starting point for promoting its clinically and research-validated meal models to the world. He also expressed an ambition to fully deliver the brand’s core value—providing solutions tailored to individuals’ health status and life stage—to overseas consumers.

Kim Hyeong-mi, head of the Nutrition Research Institute, stated that comprehensive nutritional support spanning from disease prevention to convalescent care is Medisola’s strength, and predicted that performance in the Hong Kong market, where consumer response is rapid, will become a benchmark for expansion across Asia.

Having strengthened its fundamentals last year by securing a KRW 13.0 billion Series A investment, Medisola plans to use the Hong Kong launch as a starting point to accelerate the advancement of its artificial intelligence (AI)-based nutrition solutions and its preemptive move into global markets.

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