CJ Ignites Frozen Pizza Business Revival... Launches Schwan's Products in Korea

Through Exchange with Schwans, Securing Advanced Technology and Promoting a Complete Upgrade of the Gourmet Pizza Lineup

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] CJ CheilJedang is embarking on a full-scale move to accelerate growth in the frozen pizza business. The company is focusing on expanding its market influence by introducing the representative products of the American brand Schwan’s, acquired last year, to the domestic market. Additionally, through technological exchanges with Schwan’s, CJ CheilJedang plans to fully upgrade its existing ‘Gourmet’ pizza lineup to drive growth in the stagnant frozen pizza market.

According to CJ CheilJedang on the 13th, the size of the domestic frozen pizza market (based on Nielsen data) grew explosively over three years, from 19.8 billion KRW in 2016 to 88 billion KRW in 2017, and 95.2 billion KRW in 2018, attracting attention. However, by November 2019, the market size had sharply decreased by more than 30% compared to the same period the previous year, recording approximately 58.7 billion KRW versus 86.7 billion KRW.

CJ CheilJedang identified the market stagnation reasons as the ‘taste quality limitations’ of domestic products and the ‘lack of manufacturing technology’ among companies. Although many consumers were initially attracted by the cost-effectiveness trend during the early growth phase, the taste quality was inferior compared to pizzas from dining-out or delivery specialty stores, with soggy and hard dough and sparse toppings, resulting in low repurchase rates.

The lack of manufacturing technology was also cited as a cause of market stagnation. Unlike other frozen foods such as dumplings, pizza was not a frequently sought-after menu item by consumers, and the market itself was relatively new. Consequently, companies lacked manufacturing experience, and there was a shortage of technological exchange, information, and trends, leading to relatively low technological capabilities.

In response, CJ CheilJedang will first introduce Schwan’s flagship pizza brand, ‘Red Baron,’ to the domestic market. ‘Red Baron’ is an authentic American-style pizza brand that has been popular since its debut in 1976. The product being launched is the ‘Red Baron Deep Dish Cheese Pizza,’ characterized by its crispy deep dish-shaped crust and rich, deep cheese flavor.

To reignite stagnant consumption, the company chose to first release a deep dish product with excellent cheese taste quality in line with current trends. In fact, various processed foods containing cheese have recently gained great popularity, and deep dish-style Chicago pizzas are also receiving attention in dining-out settings. Following this, additional products such as ‘Deep Dish Hawaiian Cheese Pizza’ and ‘Deep Dish Bacon Cheese Pizza’ will be introduced to further expand market influence.

CJ CheilJedang is also pursuing advanced technology acquisition. By combining Schwan’s 50 years of accumulated pizza R&D and manufacturing know-how with CJ CheilJedang’s frozen food capabilities, the company aims to focus on developing technology that can lead the market. Based on advanced manufacturing technology, the flagship ‘Gourmet’ pizza will be upgraded, and from the second half of this year, production will be fully carried out at Jincheon BC, aiming to lead both quantitative and qualitative growth in the domestic frozen pizza market.

Kim Suk-jin, head of CJ CheilJedang’s Frozen Innovation Team, stated, “Due to the lack of technological capabilities among domestic manufacturers in realizing pizza taste quality, consumer needs and preferences were not properly targeted. We have set our strategic direction focusing on overcoming this.” He added, “Based on this new strategy, we will work to spread the perception that frozen pizza is no less than specialty store pizza and focus on revitalizing the domestic frozen pizza market once again.”

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