Ian Poulter Chooses Bibimbap, Rickie Fowler Prefers Mandu... The 'Bibigo' Craze Captivating 1 Billion American Households (Comprehensive)

Due to COVID-19, this year's CJ Cup held in the US is the 'Bibigo Cup'
Players eating bibimbap and making dumplings... 1 billion households TV broadcast
'Expanding Bibigo brand awareness' and 'Promoting excellence of K-Food'

Shadow Creek course panorama.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] “The PGA Tour regular event held in the United States, ‘The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek’ (CJ Cup). Byeong-Hun An and Ian Poulter enjoyed bibimbap. And Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, and Danny Lee made dumplings themselves.” The CJ CheilJedang Korean food brand ‘Bibigo’ was fully exposed on the broadcast screen watched by over 1 billion households worldwide.

The CJ Cup was truly dyed in Bibigo’s green. Ian Poulter eating bibimbap and Keegan Bradley making dumplings were highlighted as unique scenes of the tournament.

Danny Lee, Rickie Fowler, and Keegan Bradley smiling brightly while making mandu.

On the 17th, CJ CheilJedang’s Bibigo is actively using the PGA Tour regular event CJ Cup as a marketing platform. The CJ Cup, held from the 15th to the 18th local time in the United States, was exceptionally held in the U.S. this year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The tournament venue, Shadow Creek, was greener than ever. Almost every tee fence (advertising fence at the tournament venue) displayed the CJ CheilJedang Bibigo logo, covering the venue with green symbolizing Bibigo along with the lush grass.

A CJ CheilJedang official said, “It is no exaggeration to say that this tournament was for Bibigo, as we pushed for unprecedented brand exposure. The broadcast reaches 1 billion households worldwide, and since it was held in the U.S. this year with fewer time zone restrictions, we expect even greater brand exposure effects.”

Food set up at Bibigo Kitchen in Players Lounge.

Additionally, players enjoyed the ‘Bibigo Lunch Box’ prepared directly by Bibigo chefs and fell in love with the charm of Korean cuisine. CJ CheilJedang has operated the ‘Player Lounge’ responsible for players’ meals every year, and thanks to meticulous efforts from menu selection to cooking based on global business know-how, the ‘Player Lounge’ has become a mascot associated with ‘The CJ Cup.’

This year, due to COVID-19, meals were provided in lunch box form instead of buffet style, captivating players and tournament officials with popular Bibigo menus in the U.S., such as salad, rice, and Korean-style BBQ. In particular, ‘Dumpling Salad,’ ‘Galbi BBQ,’ and ‘Seafood Japchae’ were very popular. Rickie Fowler mentioned in an official interview, “I have been eating Korean lunch boxes every day during the two days I have been at the tournament venue, and it’s really nice to try various kinds of Korean food.”

Bibigo next to the 14th green at Shadow Creek.

The ‘The CJ Cup Lunch Box’ was also released in limited quantities in Korea to soothe domestic golf fans who can only watch the tournament via broadcast. This menu will be available for the next two weeks at CJ The Market offline stores (CJ CheilJedang Center, IFC).

Participating as the official sponsor brand of The CJ Cup for the fourth year, Bibigo is promoting the charm of Korean cuisine with the Bibigo brand, led by ‘Bibigo Dumplings,’ which has held the No. 1 market share in the U.S. since 2016. Especially, by acquiring the large U.S. food company Schwan’s Company last year, CJ CheilJedang established a food production and distribution infrastructure across the U.S., seizing the opportunity to dominate the world’s largest market and build a foundation for large-scale K-food (Korean food wave).

In this atmosphere, Bibigo dumplings recorded a historic milestone last year by surpassing domestic sales with U.S. sales for the first time ever, and cumulative sales until August this year reached 283.7 billion KRW, a 25% increase compared to the previous year. Having sold over 300 billion KRW in 2019, it is highly likely to achieve sales exceeding last year’s this year as well.

A CJ CheilJedang official said, “Through The CJ Cup tournament, Bibigo is surely catching two rabbits: ‘expanding Bibigo brand awareness’ and ‘spreading the excellence of K-food.’ We will continue aggressive marketing in the U.S. to further imprint Bibigo as the representative Korean food brand among American consumers.”

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