Suhyun Kwon COO & Head of Food R&D
From the flow of operations to a single sip in the cup — all of it is my responsibility
From the flow of operations to a single sip in the cup — all of it is my responsibility
“Owners no longer have to make cocktails until 2 a.m. They get the time to have dinner with their family. Being at the center of that change is the most rewarding part.”
The most multi-dimensional role at Li.fizz. In one hand, the flow of running the whole company; in the other, the recipes of every drink sold across 1,400 stores.
Q. Could you introduce yourself?
I'm Suhyun Kwon, COO and Head of Food R&D at Li.fizz. I hold a master's in Hospitality Management from Kyung Hee University, with credentials in food R&D, Korean bartending, and a WSET sommelier international qualification. You could say I've been steeped in the F&B industry for a long time. At Li.fizz I'm both COO — responsible for company operations as a whole — and Head of Food R&D, responsible for every menu and base.
Q. It's unusual for one person to hold both roles. How does that work?
At first I asked myself the same question — "Can this even work together?" But once I started, separating the two roles at Li.fizz would have felt strange. Our product is, ultimately, "a robot that automates F&B." Every operational decision is directly reflected in the drink or dish, and every food R&D outcome reshapes the cost structure of operations. The two areas are practically one body.
For example, an R&D decision to extend a base's shelf life from 7 to 14 days immediately becomes an operational decision: "We can halve logistics delivery frequency, which cuts per-store operating costs by X won." Splitting that across two people makes the ping-pong too long — it's faster for one person to hold both.
Q. Could you walk us through what you do as COO and as Head of Food R&D?
As COO, I'm responsible for the entire operational flow across what is now 1,400 stores — and soon many more. Consultation intake, store analysis, robot installation, base delivery, remote AS, data-driven store insights — keeping this flow unbroken is the job. Because we're cloud-robotics-based, our operations don't quite look like a typical food-ingredient distribution company. We monitor store states in real time, push remote feature improvements via OTA, and deliver insights to owners like "push this menu in this time slot and sales will go up 12%."
As Head of Food R&D, I'm responsible for in-house recipe development, base manufacturing design, menu customization for 28 franchises, and R&D for next categories. A "recipe optimized for an automation rig" is genuinely difficult. A human bartender adjusts on the fly to their mood or a guest's preference, but the robot has to make it the same every time. Building "deliciousness" inside that "sameness" is the biggest challenge in our food team. We hold multiple patents around this.
Q. What has been the most rewarding moment?
When an owner says, "thanks to you, I survived." They actually say that. The numbers — 20% labor savings, 12% revenue lift — translate, in real life, to the owner not having to be making cocktails at 2 a.m. anymore. To them getting the time to have dinner with their family.
And as Head of Food R&D, seeing photos uploaded with reviews that say "the drinks are so good." The guest has no idea it's an automation product — they just say "this place has good drinks." That's the clearest proof that our food R&D did its job.
Q. What's the hardest part of holding both roles at once?
Honestly, time. Some days I do sensory evaluation of base prototypes in the morning and review operating metrics for 800 stores in the afternoon. I have to keep switching mental modes — really tough at first.
It's much better now that the team is properly built. The people working alongside me in each area are genuinely solid. Still, the most important decisions — the ones requiring synergy between both areas — have to land on my desk, so every week moves fast.
Q. Who would you like to work with?
On the food side, people with confidence in their palate, and the ability to objectify that sense. We don't lock in recipes by "feel." pH, sugar level, alcohol content, even aroma components — everything is managed with data. A Korean bartender's license, barista experience, or sommelier qualification helps, but openness to learning is enough on its own.
On the operations side, people with a near-obsession for detail, who also like working with people. Operations is 99% detail. A single late base box can stop a store. And we talk to owners every day. Operations is, in the end, a people business.
Q. A final word.
There's a reason food R&D folks rarely join startups — usually startups don't have the resources to do proper R&D. But at Li.fizz, R&D is the core. The same is true for operations — running 800, then 1,400, and soon tens of thousands of stores from scratch is an experience you can't get elsewhere. If you want to build a real business on either the food or the operations side, I'd love to talk.