The King of Processed Food Gift Sets, 'Spam,' Draws Attention in the US... Secret to Record-Breaking Sales for 5 Consecutive Years

US CNBC Identifies 'Korea' as the Largest Spam Consumer, Highlights Popularity of Spam Gift Sets in Video

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] CJ CheilJedang is leading trends again this year by maintaining its position as the number one processed food gift set with 'Spam' at the forefront.

According to CJ CheilJedang on the 16th, Spam has been a steady seller, holding the number one spot in the canned ham category for 15 consecutive years. Actual sales, which were 7 billion KRW when Spam was launched in 1987, grew about 60 times to 420 billion KRW last year. Since the 2000s, it has established itself as a popular gift set during holidays, achieving double-digit growth every year.

In particular, Spam's popularity is being reexamined as it continues to show steady sales growth in the United States. Last month, the US economic channel CNBC reported in a news segment titled "What happened to spam?" that while processed foods are generally in decline, Spam has recorded record sales for five consecutive years in the US. The report also identified South Korea as one of the largest consumers of Spam and showcased the popularity of Spam gift sets through video.

Riding on this wave of popularity, CJ CheilJedang released 5 million sets of 145 types of gift sets including Spam for this Lunar New Year. This is an increase of 17 types and more than double the quantity compared to last Chuseok. Especially, the company focused on mid-priced gift sets in the 20,000 to 30,000 KRW range, which are the most preferred in the gift set market, while expanding the price range up to 90,000 KRW.

Additionally, moving away from the past focus on large and abundant packaging development, the gap between products within the gift sets, which was 10mm, has been reduced by half. The gift set shopping bags are also uncoated and use paper material for the handles to increase recyclability, leading trends in eco-friendly packaging for gift sets.

A CJ CheilJedang official stated, "Spam has been loved as a gift for a long time by establishing its image as a 'premium canned ham,' not a cheap canned ham, through the selection of the best ingredients and strict hygiene management," adding, "We will continue to strive to improve product quality and enhance its value as a gift without being complacent."

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