As the number of people eating alone rises in Korea, food companies come up with new offers for smaller portions and lower prices. gettyimagesbank

Kyochon F&B's new "single series" menu is designed for individual customers. Courtesy of Kyochon F&B

Restaurant and delivery foods that have been popular picks for parties and gatherings are becoming smaller in size. The trend is due to the rise in the number of solo customers and single-person households in Korea.

To serve the new market for solo meals, food companies are introducing new options amid a new food trend called YONO — "you only need for one."

The weight-loss in menus has reached domestic fried chicken makers. Last week, Kyochon F&B launched its "Single Series" menu, reducing the volume and price of popular items by nearly half. A bucket of six pieces of fried chicken, now sized for an individual serving, is priced at 7,900 won ($5.42). A "Single Lager Pack," which includes a can of beer, is available for 8,900 won.

The servings are slimmed down from older menu options at Kyochon and other fried chicken franchise companies, which sell a whole chicken for over 20,000 won.

A Kyochon F&B official said the new meals are a response to the trend of single-person households and small-quantity consumption, which have become new keywords in the country's dine-in market.

"We have introduced the new menu so that our consumers who increasingly eat alone can enjoy more diverse options," the official said.

Other fried chicken companies in Korea have also introduced their own meals for solo customers. Genesis BBQ now offers half-chicken orders, while Dining Brands Group, which operates the franchise brand Bhc Chicken, has launched a new assortment set featuring chicken and cheese balls sized for one person.

The streamlining in serving sizes has swept pizza companies as well, as Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns have all rolled out small-size pan pizzas for prices from 5,000 won to less than 7,000 won.

Gopizza, which specializes in small-size pizzas for one-person serving, has built up a notable performance throughout last year. Having opened nearly 100 restaurants outside Korea, including in India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, the company now operates almost 1,200 restaurants across seven countries. The company fueled the individual-serving pizza trend in Korea starting in 2023, logging $32 million sales with 5 million pizzas sold worldwide the same year.

The rising individual consumption trend here mostly derives from the soaring number of people living alone. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people living alone surpassed 7.82 million in 2023, a record high accounting for 35.5 percent of all households. The number rose from over 7.38 million in 2022 when they accounted for 34.1 percent.

"Some of our franchisees in trendy areas around local universities are currently selling half-chickens. The franchisees are seeing the demand although we do not offer anything similar right now," an official from Genesis BBQ said.

A Dining Brands Group official said its chicken-plus-cheese ball set, released in 2021, is still available thanks to robust sales. Another industry official also said that sales of frozen food products in small quantities have risen, indicating the rising demand from consumers wanting to eat alone.