Global Home-Cooked Meals and the K-Food Craze... Food Industry Achieves Record-Breaking Performance

CJ CheilJedang Surpasses 1 Trillion Won Operating Profit for the First Time Last Year
Nongshim Returns to 100 Billion Won Operating Profit Range
Convenience Food Sales Soar as Home Meal Trend Grows

Bibigo Dumplings Capturing Global Tastes
Nongshim Ramen Hits Big in North America Thanks to 'Parasite' Effect
Expanding Production Bases and Strengthening Overseas Strategies

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The food industry, which experienced a COVID-19 boom, continued to achieve record-breaking performance. With the increase in ‘home meal’ consumers, sales of Home Meal Replacements (HMR) surged domestically, significantly boosting revenue. Overseas, ‘K-Food’ such as dumplings and ramen played a key role as strong performers. The food industry plans to maintain its high growth this year by focusing capabilities on core products and expanding its overseas market penetration.

CJ CheilJedang’s Annual Operating Profit Hits 1 Trillion KRW

According to the food industry on the 9th, CJ CheilJedang’s operating profit surpassed 1 trillion KRW for the first time last year. CJ CheilJedang’s (excluding CJ Logistics sales) sales last year increased by 10.9% to 14.1637 trillion KRW, and operating profit rose 73% to 1.0415 trillion KRW.

CJ CheilJedang achieved its best-ever performance last year due to a significant increase in HMR sales. Bibigo soup dishes joined the ranks of mega products with sales exceeding 200 billion KRW in the HMR category, influenced by the rise in home meal consumers due to social distancing and the spread of remote work. Over 100 million packs were sold in just one year.

Nongshim broke its record for the highest quarterly sales for three consecutive quarters last year and re-entered the 100 billion KRW operating profit range for the first time in five years. Last year’s sales increased by 12.6% year-on-year to 2.6398 trillion KRW, and operating profit rose 103.4% to 160.29749 billion KRW.

Ottogi and Pulmuone also saw significant increases in sales and operating profit last year. Ottogi’s operating profit rose 33.8% year-on-year to 198.4 billion KRW, driven by increased sales of ramen, instant rice, cup rice, and frozen foods. Sales reached 2.5958 trillion KRW, up 10.0% from the previous year. Pulmuone recorded sales of 2.3112 trillion KRW and operating profit of 45.9 billion KRW, with operating profit increasing by 50%, successfully turning a profit.

The ‘K-Food’ Craze Sweeping Overseas Markets

Last year, ‘K-Food’ such as dumplings and ramen gained huge popularity, leading to rapid growth in the food industry’s global business. For CJ CheilJedang, overseas sales exceeded 60% last year, fueled by the popularity of ‘Bibigo Dumplings.’ In particular, overseas food business sales increased by 31% year-on-year, with Schwans, acquired in 2019 for 1.5 trillion KRW, playing a major role in boosting sales. Schwans is a large food company with 18 brands in the United States.

Nongshim gained overwhelming popularity in the North American market last year due to the ‘Jjapaguri’ effect featured in the movie ‘Parasite.’ Nongshim’s overseas sales rose about 25% year-on-year, likely surpassing 1 trillion KRW for the first time last year, and the overseas sales ratio is expected to exceed 40% of total sales for the first time. Nongshim’s Chapagetti sales also increased by 19% year-on-year due to the Jjapaguri (Chapagetti + Neoguri) craze.

Accelerating Overseas Market Expansion

CJ CheilJedang is constructing a dumpling production base covering 561,983㎡ (170,000 pyeong) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA. This is the company’s 23rd factory in the US and its 8th dumpling-exclusive factory. The factory’s operating rate is hovering around 90% due to the rapid increase in sales of ‘Bibigo Dumplings’ in the US.

Based on last year’s achievements, Nongshim has set a policy to drive overseas market expansion even more aggressively. Nongshim aims to become the second-largest player in the US ramen market this year by operating its second factory in the US. Last year, Nongshim recorded a 22% market share in the US, narrowing the gap to the second-ranked company Nissin (24%) to just 2 percentage points.

A food industry official explained, "While the food industry enjoyed a COVID-19 boom last year, this year could be both an opportunity and a crisis. We plan to develop new products tailored to consumer needs to target domestic consumers, while continuously expanding overseas market penetration to increase overall sales."

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