'CJ Bibigo Changed the Home Meal Culture'... One Person Ate Four Bowls of 'Bibigo Soup Dishes'

'Bibigo Soup Dishes' 4th Anniversary, Leading Ambient Soup Market with 'Yukgaejang'
Driving 'Dining at Home' Trend... Expanded to 23 Products through R&D
10x Sales Growth in 4 Years... Aiming for 200 Billion KRW Brand with Premium Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On almost every dining table in every household, there are 'Hetbahn,' which pioneered the home meal replacement (HMR) market, and 'Bibigo Soup Dishes,' which expanded the horizons of the convenience food market. While 'Hetbahn' created the home-cooked meal culture, 'Bibigo Soup Dishes' are credited with leading changes in consumer lifestyles and transforming the home meal culture.

CJ CheilJedang announced on the 23rd that since the launch of 'Bibigo Soup Dishes' in June 2016, cumulative sales have surpassed 220 million units and 500 billion KRW in revenue over four years. This equates to each Korean consuming four bowls, and if all the soup dishes sold were connected, they would circle the Earth once (about 40,000 km).

◆‘Bibigo Yukgaejang,’ developed to meet high preference but difficult cooking, becomes the ‘National Yukgaejang’= CJ CheilJedang aimed to dominate the shelf-stable soup HMR market by enhancing quality to meet modern consumers’ trend of seeking both taste and convenience. They overcame the limitations of refrigerated products with short shelf life and improved the taste quality of previous shelf-stable products that had poor ingredients.

Through analysis of home dining trends, CJ CheilJedang strategically introduced ‘Yukgaejang,’ a dish frequently enjoyed but difficult to prepare at home. They also launched kimchi stew and soybean paste stew to meet consumers’ ‘home meal needs.’ After over a year of research and development, they preserved the natural texture and freshness of ingredients and created ‘proper home-cooked meals’ using broth made from scratch.

‘Bibigo Yukgaejang’ showed signs of a big hit from the start, expanding its influence in the market. The four-minute microwave cooking time saved time and gave consumers a sense of freedom from cooking, which was highly appreciated. Especially, it positively influenced consumers’ lifestyle that pursues ‘value for time (gashibi).’ In fact, the penetration rate of soup HMR is highest among households with children, which can be interpreted as increased time spent with family instead of cooking.

‘Bibigo Yukgaejang’ has become a steady seller with cumulative sales of 120 billion KRW as a single product. Particularly, amid the recent COVID-19 pandemic that expanded the ‘home meal culture,’ the impact of ‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ on eating habits has grown even larger. The ‘Premium Bibigo Chadol Yukgaejang,’ launched in April, sold 350,000 units (1.5 billion KRW in sales) within two months, continuing the reputation of the ‘National Yukgaejang.’

◆Developing differentiated R&D-based restaurant-style and seafood soup dishes... leading the ‘home dining of eating out’ trend= ‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ recorded 14 billion KRW in sales within six months of launch with home meal menus such as ‘Yukgaejang,’ ‘Sagol Gomtang,’ ‘Tofu Kimchi Stew,’ and ‘Doenjang Stew.’ Building on the know-how from the success of ‘Yukgaejang,’ CJ CheilJedang expanded the lineup with products containing generous meat chunks such as ‘Galbitang,’ ‘Chadol Doenjang Stew,’ and ‘Beef Market Soup.’ Judging that home meal menus alone had limits for market growth, they evolved once again by productizing menus previously enjoyed at restaurants.

To this end, they developed and applied ‘whole ingredient control technology’ that preserves the unique texture of meat raw materials. Unlike previous products that had insufficient quantity or unrecognizable meat shapes, they realized restaurant-level appearance and taste quality. This ‘whole ingredient control technology’ was also applied to develop seafood soup dishes, which had been difficult to commercialize in shelf-stable form due to seafood’s sensitivity to heat and difficulty in maintaining chunks. CJ CheilJedang overcame these challenges with differentiated technology, bringing seafood menus enjoyed at restaurants to the dining table and leading the ‘home dining of eating out’ trend. The lineup, which started with four products, has now expanded to 23 varieties.

‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ achieved 167 billion KRW in sales last year, growing more than tenfold in four years to become a mega brand. It is credited with expanding the soup dish category within the HMR market and broadening consumer choices. Competitors have also launched various products, continuously expanding the market. The shelf-stable soup market, which was only 40 billion KRW in 2016 (Nielsen data), grew to about 250 billion KRW last year. As of April, ‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ hold a 46% market share, maintaining the number one position for three consecutive years since 2017.

◆Aiming for 200 billion KRW in annual sales with premium products, pioneering mainstream markets overseas= CJ CheilJedang plans to achieve 200 billion KRW in annual sales this year by sequentially launching premium versions of existing steady-seller products, starting with ‘Bibigo Chadol Yukgaejang.’ While they have diversified products with various restaurant-style and seafood menus based on differentiated technology, this year they will focus on leading the market with premium products that meet the higher expectations of consumers.

They are also actively exploring overseas markets based on domestic know-how. Currently, ‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ are exported to about 40 countries, and this year they plan to expand the target beyond Korean expatriates to the overseas mainstream market with global-exclusive products. In the United States, they began full-scale sales of ‘Bibigo Samgyetang’ earlier this month, promoting Korea’s health food culture.

A CJ CheilJedang official said, “‘Bibigo Soup Dishes’ have led market growth and created new food culture trends based on unmatched taste quality and brand recognition that competitors cannot follow. We will do our best to establish it as a representative Korean HMR not only domestically but also in the global market.”

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