[Distribution Hot People] "An Era of Staying Healthy with Instant Rice... Confident in the Growth of Hetbahn Mixed Grain Rice"

Sujin Shin, Head of CJ CheilJedang Hetbahn Innovation Team

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] "More consumers want to eat properly cooked rice that is good for their health, even if it's just one meal. We are dedicating ourselves to research and development to create tastier and healthier rice so that the mixed grain rice market, which solves both convenience and health, can continue to grow steadily."

Shin Su-jin (43), head of the Hetbahn Innovation Team at CJ CheilJedang, who created the mixed grain rice rapidly increasing its share in the instant rice market, had an especially busy year last year, launching two new mixed grain rice products. Although mixed grain rice accounts for only about 14% of the total instant rice market, the market size grew by 30% compared to the previous year. This is because more consumers seeking a healthy diet in the instant rice market, which was favored for convenience, have increased their intake of nutrients through mixed grains such as brown rice, black rice, glutinous rice, and barley. Demand for selecting instant rice according to family members' preferences, tastes, and health conditions is also increasing, naturally boosting sales.

Shin explained, "The most difficult and core part of developing instant mixed grain rice is to preserve the health benefits of the grains while softening the rough texture by designing the optimal blending ratio to maintain the unique taste of rice." From the product planning stage, they selected mixed grains favored by Koreans through consumer research and preserved nutrients through preprocessing technology tailored to each grain, finding the optimal blend ratio, which is the secret to product development. Hetbahn mixed grain rice holds about 80% of the market share within the mixed grain rice category. Shin said, "The secret to its popularity is differentiated R&D technology and the long-verified brand power of Hetbahn."

CJ CheilJedang has launched various mixed grain rice products starting with Ogokbap (five-grain rice) in 1997, followed by black rice, germinated brown rice, glutinous barley rice, 100% brown rice, and three types of Maeil mixed grain rice. Although they have technology, production infrastructure, and experience, the R&D process for mixed grain rice was not always smooth. Hetbahn can be stored at room temperature for nine months without preservatives due to aseptic equipment and oxygen-blocking packaging. For mixed grain rice, the variety of grains makes it difficult to meet production conditions, and preprocessing is required depending on individual characteristics such as taste and hardness, which is labor-intensive. For these reasons, the types of grains that can be used in instant rice are inevitably limited. Shin also mentioned that sometimes it is difficult to procure raw materials due to price surges or supply shortages of certain grains.

Despite these difficulties and trial and error, the mixed grain rice business, which has been steadily pursued based on market growth potential, is now shining. Sales of Hetbahn mixed grain rice have steadily increased from 39.5 billion KRW in 2016, 46.5 billion KRW in 2017, to 65.4 billion KRW in 2018, and the cumulative sales from January to November last year reached 74 billion KRW, more than double the sales of 2016 three years ago. This year, high growth of over 20% is also expected. CJ CheilJedang believes that as experience with Hetbahn mixed grain rice increases, the expansion of the mixed grain instant rice market will also accelerate. Accordingly, they plan to actively carry out marketing activities centered on the expanded lineup of the Maeil mixed grain rice series.

Shin said with a smile, "Since the instant rice market has grown centered on white rice, many people still do not know how many varieties of instant mixed grain rice there are. We plan to continuously inform consumers about the variety of mixed grain rice, what grains are included and in what amounts, and the individual benefits and effects." She added confidently, "This year, we are ready to take the entire instant rice market to the next level, centered on Hetbahn mixed grain rice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.