Kooksoondang Reports 57% Increase in Traditional Liquor Exports in January-February Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kooksoondang announced on the 22nd that its export amount from January to February this year surpassed last year's record-high export amount for the same period, setting a new all-time high.

The cumulative export amount for January to February this year was $1,456,000, a 56.9% increase compared to $928,000 during the same period last year.

By country, Southeast Asia (excluding Vietnam), which has steadily pursued localization of fruit Makgeolli and sterilized Makgeolli, saw the largest increase of 201.6%, followed by Vietnam with a 120.8% growth. China increased by 74.6%, and the United States by 73.0% compared to the same period last year. Considering the growth trend of the Vietnamese market, Kooksoondang manages the Southeast Asian market separately from Vietnam.

In particular, Vietnam has shown a steep growth trend, ranking third among Kooksoondang's major export countries for the first time, surpassing Japan after the United States and China.

By product, Baekseju showed the largest growth, increasing by 121.4% compared to the same period last year, and sterilized Makgeolli grew by 142.9% year-on-year. Additionally, fruit Makgeolli such as peach Makgeolli increased by 113.2%.

Kooksoondang attributes the significant increase in exports during January and February to the continued impact of COVID-19, which maintained high interest in functional products among overseas locals. It also analyzed that as the COVID-19 situation improves in many countries due to vaccinations, overseas buyers expanded import volumes with market expansion in mind.

By product, the growth of Baekseju and fruit Makgeolli continues, and the premium Makgeolli launched in May last year, the 1000 Billion Prebio Makgeolli, has pioneered new markets. Furthermore, ongoing efforts in localization, online market development, and convenience store expansion have shown results. The ‘1000 Billion Prebio Makgeolli’ was first exported to the United States in May last year and expanded its sales channels to about 10 countries in its first year of export. This year, it aims to export to over 20 countries.

The increase in Baekseju exports is believed to be partly due to the rise in ‘compensatory consumption’ by locals with fond memories of Korea amid reduced overseas travel.

Kooksoondang began exporting Makgeolli in 1993 by developing the country's first canned Makgeolli, ‘Bio Tak’. Currently, it exports Baekseju, Makgeolli, and other representative traditional Korean liquors to over 50 countries worldwide, leading efforts to promote Korean traditional liquor and food culture. Last year, it became the first in the traditional liquor industry to receive the $5 million export tower award.

Kim Sung-jun, head of Kooksoondang's overseas business team, said, “Despite the difficult conditions due to COVID-19, exports of Kooksoondang’s Baekseju, Makgeolli, and other traditional liquors increased significantly compared to the same period last year,” adding, “This was greatly helped by ongoing localization efforts, new product development, and online market expansion through government support projects such as aT.”

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