The Insight
Youth is shifting away from traditional symbols like luxury fashion or exclusive tech, towards participation in the cultural moments people discover and share. Everyday choices, with food as an absolute front runner, have become a new form of self-expression. Finding the next viral flavour, limited drop or unique flavour combination is no longer just consumption; it is a way to show you are connected to what’s happening now. With this insight in mind, we invited people into the hottest culinary flex of the moment: Korean cuisine.
The Idea
We created S26Mart: a unique food pop-up inspired by Korean convenience store culture, reimagined as an AI-powered dining experience. The core of the idea is a nod to Samsung’s roots, which began as a local Korean grocery store in 1938. By bringing people back to where the brand started, we found a new way to introduce where it’s going next.
Guests picked their favourite Korean ingredients from the shelves and let Galaxy AI take it from there. Using the Galaxy S26 camera, the custom built app with Galaxy AI recognised every product and created three unique and personalised recipes to choose from. Korean chefs brought the chosen dish to life, while other new smartphone features like Photo Assist, Nightography and Translate seamlessly supported the overall experience.
‘Years ago, smartphone launches used to generate excitement on their own. Now, we need to find other striking ways to show people the new, innovative smartphone features.’
The result
S26Mart proved that when you stop talking about technology and start enabling culture, the audience will follow. The AI-powered dining concept sold out within 48 hours, giving every guest the opportunity to experience Galaxy AI firsthand as part of their dining journey.