[Food] Why the major brand Gompyo always seems to be reinventing itself

You’re all familiar with Gompyo, known for its white polar bear mascot “Pyo-gomi,” right? Late last year, Gompyo took on its first funding challenge with products created exclusively for wadiz. The food and sleeping bag campaigns each raised well over 100 million won, proving once again just how much love the brand receives.

Already familiar to us for its trusted product quality and unique collaborations, what brought Gompyo to wadiz, and what was that journey like? We sat down with the maker from the major brand Daehan Flour Mills to find out.

As a D2C (Direct to Consumer) platform,
wadiz, the most attractive platform

Daehan Flour Mills’ Maker Funding Campaign Successfully Concluded at the End of Last Year

Hello. We are Team Leader Byun Eun-kyung and Staff Member Kim Ji-won from the marketing team at Gompyo, a brand with a 70-year heritage under Daehan Flour Mills. Some of you may have tried Gompyo’s original “Fried Squid.”It’s Gompyo’s signature product, which sold about 160,000 bags a month and caused a major sell-out frenzy. Last November,we launcheda funding campaignon wadizfeaturing an upgraded “Limited Edition Truffle Seasoning.”Thanks to the support of our supporters,we raised over 200 million won. 

Then, in December, they collaborated with the bedding brand “Helenstein” to launch the “Gompyo Wearable Sleeping Bag” , which makes you feel like you’re becoming Gompyo’s iconic character, Pyo-gomi. This project also succeeded in capturing people’s attention with its ingenious and fun concept, raising over 100 million won during funding.

The “Gompyo Wearable Sleeping Bag” product

What we realized when we unveiled the Gompyo Wearable Sleeping Bag is that wadiz is a place where MZ-generation supporters who love new and creative concepts gather. That’s whywe felt it was the most appealing D2C platform. Having experienced it firsthand, we found it to be the best platform for introducing unique, limited-edition products that can’t be found anywhere else.

We decided to launch a funding campaign there because it’s a place where we can share in-depth stories about our products and brand. Thanks to that, we were able to connect with supporters who are a great fit for Gompyo.

For our new funding campaign,
Italian truffle seasoning, flown in directly by air

“Gompyo Fried Squid Ink with Truffle Seasoning,” made with Italian truffle seasoning

Given the nature of funding, where we had to launch a product unlike anything seen before, it’s true that we felt some pressure during the product planning phase. 

Since 2018, we’ve been planning various collaboration products—such as makgeolli, beer, popcorn, and nachos—as well as our own in-house products, and many people have given us the nickname “Trust Gompyo” (Gompyo you can trust). While this means our products are deeply loved, it also put pressure on us to do even better.

Especially on wadiz,, so we focused on maximizing quality while incorporating Gompyo’s unique and fun elements, which are appreciated by young supporters .

“Gompyo Fried Chicken with Truffle Seasoning,” made with 100% chilled meat for extra crispiness

We’re proud to say that the fried squid with squid ink and fried chicken, which we introduced through the funding campaign, were made with high-quality ingredients. First, we used Italian truffle seasoning to achieve a rich, deep flavor.

In fact, given the timeline, using Italian seasoning was logistically impossible to meet both production and shipping deadlines after the funding campaign. Nevertheless, we were so eager to introduce a unique product on wadiz that we went so far as to have the seasoning flown in directly to create these products.

Not only that, but for our fried squid ink snacks, we used 100% dried squid, and for our fried chicken products, we insisted on using 100% fresh meat instead of frozen meat. Thanks to our efforts to source the best ingredients and our partnership with “Araum”—a manufacturer that has dedicated over 10 years to researching fried snacks—we were able to create truly delicious products. 

Tens of millions in sales and customer engagement— 
Wadiz Funding: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

As a result, both the squid ink and fried chicken products sold out within five days. Seeing these results, I realized this was a platform where “genuine passion for the product” truly resonates. 

Even before the funding campaign launched, the number of people who signed up for notifications exceeded 7,000 in just three days, and we ranked number one in real-time. We had expected to raise around 100 million won, but we far exceeded that expectation, raising approximately 270 million won. The satisfaction rating also hit a high of 4.3 points, which I believe had a positiveimpact on both sales and brand image. 

Daehan Flour Milling’s makers actively engaging with supporters

Among other things, it was especially fun to interact with supporterswho could only be reached through wadiz. Our marketing team members worked hard to post comments—as if they had become “Pyo-gomi” themselves—and built close relationships with them.

Some supporters mentioned that while the original product had been hard to find, thanks to the funding campaign, they were happy to stock up on the new flavors. Others said they’d been cheering for the Gompyo brand for a long time and were delighted to find it on wadiz. There were so many heartwarming comments that made us feel great just reading them.

On wadiz, even big brands can stay fresh

Not only that, butwe also received a lot ofmeaningful feedback that’s helping us with product planning. 

For example, some people mentioned that the squid ink fritters were a bit salty, so we’re planning to lower the salt content for our next project . As for the Gompyo sleeping bag, we’re considering developing a version for infants based on the comments we received.We’re also actively incorporating various other ideas and suggestions into our planning.

One of our team members is actually a passionate wadiz supporter. When I asked why wadiz is so great, they said, “There are so many unique projects you can’t find anywhere else, so I end up using it often.”

That’s also why we recommend wadiz funding to managers at other major brands. When launching a new brand or product, it’s the best place to find people who will watch with such an open mind and genuine interest, and to communicate with them in real time to gauge customer reactions early on. 

Do you have a unique story about your brand that you’d like to share?

The Story of the Gompyo Brand and Its Products in the Funding Campaign

The bigger the brand, the more it naturally wants to focus on “branding” to convey its authenticity.

In that sense, wadizis a platform that can effectively convey a brand’s appeal. The brand’s unique story becomes the product itself, and people who resonate with that story are the ones who provide funding for the campaign. It’s a place where, even while waiting for a long delivery period, it’s a place where you can meet people who genuinely cheer for your brand.

If this is your first time running a wadiz funding campaign, you might be worried because the process is unfamiliar, but I want to encourage you to take the plunge with confidence—the wadiz team will guide you every step of the way. 

From writing the Story to planning events and putting together merchandise, this was our first time too, but we were able to pull it off thanks to our collaboration with the wadiz team.If wecome up with a product this year that our supporters will love, we plan to return to wadiz. Please look forward to Gompyo’s ongoing innovations on wadiz.

Written by Jeong So-jeong, Edited by Han Ji-hye

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