Yogiyo membership tops 2 million as mukbang collab helps reverse user slump

A video produced by Yogiyo in collaboration with mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang [Yogiyo via YouTube]

Two years to double. Two million subscribers.

Yogiyo, which had seen its user base stagnate under pressure from Baemin and Coupang Eats, has something to celebrate. Its subscription membership service, Yogipass, has doubled its subscriber count in two years, surpassing 2 million members.

Earlier this year, Yogiyo partnered with mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang to produce a video in which she ordered 800,000 won ($596) worth of food through the app in a single day — part of the company's push to win back users.

Yogiyo's monthly active users, which once exceeded 9 million, have since shrunk to fewer than 4 million. Whether securing 2 million Yogipass subscribers can help reverse that decline remains to be seen.

Yogiyo said this month that Yogipass had surpassed 2 million subscribers — five years after the service launched in November 2021. The milestone comes roughly two years after the service crossed 1 million subscribers in November 2024, meaning the count doubled in that span.

Yogipass is a subscription membership service offering benefits such as discounts on delivery and takeout orders. It operates under two tiers: the discount-focused Yogipass and Yogipass X, which provides free delivery at participating restaurants.

Expanded partnerships — most notably with Naver — have driven much of the subscriber growth.

Customers subscribed to Naver Plus Membership or Toss can access Yogipass X benefits at no additional charge. According to Yogiyo, the number of users on the "Yogipass X with Naver Plus Membership" plan rose 39.7 percent year-on-year as of September.

Yogiyo also credited its "unlimited points" feature, which awards points on every order, with boosting membership uptake. Yogipass subscribers earn points at a higher rate than regular customers, and the accumulated points can be spent like cash.

An exterior view of Yogiyo's headquarters. [Provided by Widae Sangsang]

The question now is whether crossing the 2 million subscriber mark can sustain a broader recovery in Yogiyo's overall user base.

According to mobile analytics firm Mobile Index, Yogiyo's monthly active users stood at about 3.98 million in August, about 3.74 million in September and about 3.91 million in October. That is roughly one-third of the approximately 9 million MAU the platform recorded in March 2022, and the app has shown little sign of a sustained rebound.

The dominance of Baemin and Coupang Eats has left Yogiyo with increasingly little room to maneuver. Last month, Baemin posted about 24.28 million MAU and Coupang Eats about 14.46 million — a gap that dwarfs Yogiyo's current figures.

Amid the intensifying competition, Yogiyo said it plans to strengthen its own membership benefits and expand partnerships to drive user growth. "We will continue to offer differentiated benefits and services so that customers choose Yogiyo even as they use multiple online food delivery apps," said Kim Hye-jeong, Yogiyo's chief marketing officer.

sjpark@heraldcorp.com