A startup founder in his 30s has turned protein shakes — once seen as supplements for fitness enthusiasts and nutritional drinks for older adults — into a tasty beverage that people in their 20s and 30s reach for in place of a meal. Lee Sang-hoon, CEO of F&L Corporation, leads Flymeal, a brand of pouch-type protein shakes. Sales jumped 20-fold from 2.3 billion won in 2022 to 40.6 billion won two years later, and this year the company surpassed 40 billion won in the first half alone, putting it on the verge of its first 100 billion won ($73 million) in annual sales.
A statistics major, Lee worked as an intern in the financial sector before gaining experience in business development, sales and distribution strategy at P&G. "Working at a consumer goods company, I was drawn to the process of products I made myself being sold to consumers," he said, adding that he founded the company in 2020 with co-CEO Han Song-hee. Starting with 5 million won in seed capital, they baked and sold granola themselves in a shared kitchen. Their opportunity came as interest in health and wellness rose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"At the time, the protein market centered on products from large companies and focused on senior nutritional foods and exercise supplements," Lee said. He set his sights on women in their 20s and 30s, a group that had drawn relatively little attention, as a new consumer base. He foresaw growth potential in the market for shakes that let people take in protein easily while replacing a meal.
Lee pointed to 2023 and 2024 as a period of leaps, calling it "the point when protein shakes went mainstream as a meal replacement for women in their 20s and 30s." As protein shakes — long viewed as supplements for those who enjoy working out or as nutritional foods for the middle-aged and older — grew as a meal replacement and weight-management item for young women, new demand formed quickly.
An expanding distribution network also helped. While the brand was building recognition through YouTube marketing, a merchandiser at Olive Young proposed a listing first, and from August 2023 the product was sold at about 1,300 stores nationwide. "Through Olive Young, many customers who encountered the product were drawn back online, creating a virtuous cycle," Lee stressed. The company also rolled out a series of new products co-developed with Olive Young, including cookies-and-cream and peanut butter flavors and protein bars, building synergy. "As in the United States, wellness options in Korea will become more diverse," he said, adding that distribution platforms such as Olive Young and Olive Better would further expand wellness demand.
The share of overseas sales is also rising quickly. Overseas sales accounted for 20% last year, climbing to 40% in the first half of this year. "Japan, China and the United States make up 80% to 90% of total exports," Lee said. "In Japan, we are expanding offline distribution centered on convenience stores and drugstores, and in the United States we are using our listings at Olive Young stores as a foothold to broaden both online marketing and offline distribution." The company recently established a U.K. subsidiary to enter Europe. After completing the process to obtain sales approval, it plans to begin full-scale sales and marketing from October.
What Lee pursued most doggedly in the growth process was "taste." Seeing that protein's characteristic fishy taste and dry texture could be a barrier for consumers, the company released 14 flavors and introduced protein toppings for the first time in the industry. Launching a single new product takes at least five months and as many as about 40 rounds of blind tests. "The blind tests often compare against ordinary cafe drinks rather than other protein shakes," he said. "The flavors that actually became hits proved so refined that they are hard to tell apart from beverages on the market."
Flymeal is expanding beyond protein shakes into wellness foods more broadly. After launching the room-temperature convenience food "Witch Soup" last year, it diversified its diet-management lineup this year with "Farro Oatmeal Chicken Porridge." The strategy is to secure new wellness demand ahead of others as competition in the domestic protein shake market intensifies. After Witch Soup was listed at Olive Better in February last year, its monthly average sales from February to July this year rose 384% from before, and sales to foreign customers increased 220%.
Asked about his next goal, with the company approaching its first target of 100 billion won in annual sales, Lee's answer was clear: "I want to achieve 100 billion won in sales per brand and 100 billion won in overseas sales."
