Yogiyo's monthly users rebound by 100,000 after mukbang collab with Tzuyang

A promotional video Yogiyo produced with mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang. [YouTube/Yogiyo]

Yogiyo, the online food delivery platform that has been hemorrhaging users, saw its monthly active users rebound last month for the first time in months.

The uptick is welcome news for a platform that had been struggling to hold on to third place in the delivery app rankings.

Yogiyo has been pulling out all the stops to win back users, including a collaboration earlier this year with mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang, who spent 800,000 won ($580) in a single day ordering food through the app — a video the company released on its official channels.

However, it remains to be seen whether Yogiyo can sustain the momentum as competition intensifies in a market increasingly dominated by Baemin and Coupang Eats.

Yogiyo's headquarters. [Provided by Widaehan Sangsang]

According to IGAWorks' Mobile Index, Yogiyo's MAU last month rose to about 3.98 million, up roughly 109,500 users, or 2.8 percent, from about 3.87 million the previous month. It is the first increase since April and brings the platform close to recovering the 4 million-user threshold it had previously fallen below.

Yogiyo once commanded a firm second place in the market, with nearly 8 million monthly active users in July 2021, trailing only Baemin. But the platform missed its window to respond to Coupang Eats' rapid rise, and its user base has since fallen by roughly half, leaving it far behind the top two.

A still from a Coupang Eats television advertisement. [YouTube/Coupang Eats]

In response, Yogiyo has rolled out a series of promotions in a bid to recapture users.

The Tzuyang collaboration earlier this year was the most prominent. Yogiyo produced a video in which the YouTuber spent a full day ordering delivery food through the app and accumulating reward points, then released it on YouTube and other official channels. The video surpassed 3.14 million views and generated a burst of buzz for the platform.

A points accumulation program called "Infinite Accumulation" also drew a positive response. It returns a set percentage of each order amount as points that can be spent like cash.

Baemin Riders, the delivery arm of Baemin. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]

Despite the rare rebound, it remains unclear whether Yogiyo can sustain its upward trajectory. As competition between Baemin and Coupang Eats intensifies, the space for Yogiyo is growing ever narrower.

Coupang Eats, the No. 2 platform, set an all-time high last month with about 14.44 million MAU, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous month. The surge was driven largely by an expansion of its free delivery offering: in May, Coupang Eats extended free delivery — previously available only to Coupang Wow members — to all users, running the promotion through the end of last month. The promotion has since ended, but industry observers say the free delivery push gave Coupang Eats lasting momentum in user acquisition.

Baemin recorded about 24.4 million MAU, down 1.2 percent, but still holds first place with a lead of more than 10 million users over Coupang Eats.

sjpark@heraldcorp.com