RIU

What RIU does

RIU (주)리우 is a Seoul-based B2B packaging solutions provider founded in 2017 that operates two digital platforms targeting the traditionally fragmented Korean packaging industry. Its flagship POJANGPOSS (포장포스) platform, launched in December 2020 and described as the world's first B2B packaging material price comparison site, connects packaging buyers — primarily small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs lacking dedicated packaging teams — with 250+ packaging manufacturers through a competitive bidding system, supported by free consulting from certified packaging managers (포장기술관리사). A 50%+ repeat-use rate and ~4,000 cumulative quote registrations within 10 months of launch indicate strong product-market fit among long-tail buyers who previously had no efficient channel to source custom packaging.

The company monetizes through transaction commissions on matched brokerage deals (POJANGPOSS), per-franchise supply-chain markups (POJANGBOSS, launched January 2022 and serving 80+ franchise brands with branded malls and daily delivery), traditional packaging procurement agency fees, and a growing set of adjacent services including order management (Baljowon, 2024), smart store management (LinkUs, 2025), and third-party logistics (3PL, 2025). RIU combines its digital platforms with four physical logistics centers (Seoul, Gwangju, Naju, Muan) stocking 1,000+ SKUs, enabling franchise-store daily delivery that pure digital competitors cannot easily replicate. Hansol Paper is the sole strategic investor from the ~20B KRW Series A (2022), aligning RIU with eco-friendly packaging distribution; a Series B round is in progress as of January 2026. International expansion began with English-speaking markets in September 2021, supported by a North American logistics partnership with Hanmi Post.

RIU has accumulated multiple government and industry awards (Minister of SMEs and Startups Award 2020, Smart Korea Award 2021, Innovation Startup League Jeonnam Grand Prize 2019) and operates in-house packaging and IT research institutes. The business sits at the intersection of vertical B2B marketplace, franchise supply-chain SaaS, and logistics services, with revenue scaling driven by network effects on the buyer side, franchise mall expansion, and incremental module monetization per franchise brand.

Name

RIU

Legal name

(주)리우 (RIU CO., Ltd.)

Website

https://riupack.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RIU (주)리우 is a Seoul-based B2B packaging solutions provider operating POJANGPOSS, a brokerage platform connecting 3,000+ small-business buyers with 250+ packaging manufacturers via competitive bidding, and POJANGBOSS, a franchise packaging supply chain serving 80+ brands with daily delivery from four logistics centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Packaging Marketplace and Procurement Services

NAICS

Packaging and Labeling Services (56191), Packaging and Labeling Services (561910), Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers (4241), Warehousing and Storage (493)

SIC

Wholesale-Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods (5190), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging, Containers & Shipping Supplies Marketplaces (CRAFAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) & FMCG (TLAIALAH), Display & Retail-Ready Packaging (PDQ, Shelf-Ready, End-Caps) (TLAIAGAF)

Keywords

• Packaging intermediation platform
• B2B packaging marketplace
• Franchise packaging supply
• Custom packaging procurement
• Packaging materials sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 포장포스 중개 플랫폼 수수료 (POJANGPOSS Brokerage Commission): RIU earns transaction fees by connecting packaging buyers (small businesses, startups, individuals) with packaging manufacturers through the POJANGPOSS platform. Manufacturers compete via bidding, and RIU takes a commission on matched transactions. The platform also earns revenue from professional consulting services offered through packaging managers.
2. 포장보스 프랜차이즈 몰 매출 (POJANGBOSS Franchise Mall Sales): Revenue generated from supplying packaging materials, food service supplies, and related products to franchise brand headquarters and their individual franchise stores through the POJANGBOSS platform. RIU shares a portion of profits with franchise headquarters.
3. 포장재 구매대행 서비스 (Packaging Procurement Agency): Traditional packaging procurement agency service where RIU acts as a purchasing agent for businesses needing custom packaging. RIU charges a service fee for specification design, material selection, design, and production management — covering everything from product design to supply.
4. 스마트스토어/링크스 솔루션 (Smart Store/LinkUs Solution): Smart store management solution 'LinkUs' launched October 2025 and order management program 'Baljowon' launched 2024, generating additional service revenue from store management and ordering tools.
5. 3PL 물류 서비스 (Third-Party Logistics): Third-party logistics service launched November 2025, providing warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RIU (주)리우 is a Korean B2B packaging solutions provider that operates two digital platforms: POJANGPOSS (포장포스), the world's first online packaging intermediation platform connecting packaging buyers with 250+ packaging manufacturers through competitive bidding, free packaging-manager consulting, and free design services; and POJANGBOSS (포장보스), a franchise-dedicated e-commerce mall providing customized brand storefronts and daily delivery of packaging materials to franchise stores. The company also runs a traditional packaging procurement agency service (RIU_pack) covering specification design, material selection, design, and production management, supported by four logistics centers in South Korea and a portfolio of complementary tools (AI chatbot 'Woori', LinkUs smart store management, Baljowon ordering program, and 3PL logistics).

Product overview

RIU (주)리우 operates a platform-plus-modules architecture built around two core digital products: Pojangposs (포장포스), the world's first B2B packaging material brokerage platform launched in December 2020, which connects buyers with 100+ packaging manufacturers and offers free packaging consultation, design, and escrow payment; and Pojangboss (포장보스), a franchise-dedicated e-commerce mall launched in January 2022, which provides customized brand shopping malls, daily delivery of packaging materials and supplies, free franchise mobile apps, and design consulting to franchise headquarters and their stores. Supporting modules include the AI chatbot 'Woo-ri' (우리) for packaging consultations, the Baldowon (발주원) ordering program, the Link Us (링크스) store management solution, and 3PL logistics services. RIU also maintains a traditional packaging procurement service (RIU_pack) and produces a wide range of physical packaging materials including flexible packaging, paper boxes, corrugated boxes, labels, manuals, shopping bags, colored corrugated boxes, and plastic molded items. The company has positioned itself as Korea's first IT-powered packaging intermediary, combining digital platform services with physical packaging supply and logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 포장포스 (POJANGPOSS): B2B packaging intermediation platform connecting buyers with packaging manufacturers for custom packaging materials across food, medicine, cosmetics and other industries. Features competitive bidding, packaging manager consultation, and free design services.
• 포장보스 (POJANGBOSS)
• 링크스 (LinkUs)
• 발주원 (Baljowon)
• 우리 (Woori)

Products and services

• POJANGPOSS (포장포스) B2B packaging material brokerage platform that connects packaging buyers (small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs, startups, and enterprises) with 250+ packaging manufacturers through real-time competitive quote comparison, free packaging-manager consulting, and free package design services across 150+ packaging types in food, medicine, cosmetics, and other industries.
• POJANGBOSS (포장보스) Franchise-dedicated e-commerce platform providing customized shopping malls for each franchise brand with daily delivery of packaging materials, containers, and other store supplies to franchise stores. Includes free branded mobile apps, sales incentives, and design consulting.
• RIU_pack (구매대행) Packaging Procurement Agency

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 packaging projects brokered in approximately 3 years
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and important.

• 한미포스트 (Hanmi Post)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022MOU signed with Hanmi Post, a North American parcel/logistics company, to support cross-border packaging logistics for the US market launch and US-Korea packaging trade facilitation.
• 목포대학교 LINC+ 사업단 (Mokpo University LINC+ Business Unit)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2021Co-organized the 1st Digital Startup Competition with Mokpo University's LINC+ program and other Jeonnam regional startup support organizations. RIU participated as a finalist and won an excellence award.
• 광주전남창업보육협회 (Gwangju-Jeonnam Startup Incubator Association)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Gwangju-Jeonnam Startup Incubator Association organized the '2020 Gwangju-Jeonnam Startup Night' where RIU received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award. The association also supports RIU as a resident company at the Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center.
• 연세대학교 패키징학과 (Yonsei University Department of Packaging)importantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2021RIU signed a family company agreement with Yonsei University's Department of Packaging for customized talent development and academic-industry collaboration. RIU gains access to packaging talent pipelines; Yonsei gains industry internships and research collaboration. RIU aims to become the company with the most packaging experts in Korea within 3 years.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Noissue: Noissue is a packaging marketplace serving SMBs and e-commerce brands with custom, sustainable packaging, including design tooling and low-MOQ ordering. Highly comparable to RIU's POJANGPOSS in customer base, custom packaging focus, and SMB/e-commerce go-to-market.
• MFG.com: MFG.com is a global B2B manufacturing marketplace connecting buyers with custom manufacturers across CNC, molding, and packaging categories. The platform-driven, RFQ-based intermediation model is structurally similar to RIU's POJANGPOSS.
• PakFactory: PakFactory is an online custom packaging manufacturer and marketplace for retail boxes, mailers, and folding cartons serving SMBs globally. Like RIU, it offers instant quoting, design services, and low-MOQ custom packaging procurement.
• Thomasnet: Thomasnet is a leading B2B sourcing platform connecting industrial buyers with North American manufacturers and suppliers across categories including packaging. Both RIU and Thomasnet digitize traditionally offline, fragmented industrial sourcing via marketplace models.
• EcoEnclose: EcoEnclose provides sustainable packaging solutions and shipping supplies to e-commerce and SMB brands via an online platform, with custom branding and a focus on eco-friendly substrates — directly parallel to RIU's POJANGBOSS franchise and eco-friendly packaging line.
• Xometry: Xometry operates a global B2B marketplace that matches SMB and enterprise buyers with manufacturing partners via competitive bidding, with AI-driven quoting and instant pricing — directly analogous to RIU's POJANGPOSS model in custom packaging/manufacturing intermediation.
• Lumi: Lumi provides custom packaging, labels, and unboxing supplies to DTC and e-commerce SMBs with online ordering, design, and fulfillment integration. Comparable to RIU on SMB customer focus, custom packaging marketplace model, and e-commerce/brand use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Printful: Printful is a large on-demand printing, packaging, and fulfillment platform serving SMBs and e-commerce brands. While broader in scope, it overlaps with RIU on custom-branded packaging for small businesses and franchise-style retail brands.
• Alibaba 1688.com: Alibaba's 1688.com is China's dominant B2B wholesale and packaging marketplace, connecting SMBs to manufacturers via competitive bidding. As a broader incumbent in B2B intermediation, it is the principal scale benchmark for the marketplace model RIU is pursuing in Korea.

Emerging players

• Sticker Mule: Sticker Mule is a custom printing and packaging platform focused on labels, stickers, and packaging for SMBs and creators, with a strong online self-serve experience. An adjacent emerging player in the same SMB custom-packaging and label segment as POJANGPOSS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pojangposs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RIU