BGF Retail "Purchasing 50 Billion KRW of Jeonnam Specialty Products to Stock Convenience Store Tables"

(From left) Geonjun Lee, CEO of BGF Retail, Youngrok Kim, Governor of Jeollanam-do, and Seohong Park, Head of Nonghyup Jeonnam Regional Headquarters, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement to expand sales channels and promote consumption of Jeollanam-do rice.

New Products Launched Using Excellent Raw Materials Such as Saecheongmu Rice
Business Agreement Signed to Discover Local Partners
Plan to Purchase 50 Billion KRW Worth This Year and Expand Annually

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] BGF Retail, operator of CU, announced on the 25th that it has signed a business agreement with Jeollanam-do Province and the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation to expand the market and promote consumption of Jeollanam-do rice.

The business agreement ceremony held on the 23rd took place at Jeonnam Provincial Office’s Jeong Yak-yong Room, attended by related officials including Lee Geon-jun, CEO of BGF Retail, Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, and Park Seo-hong, Head of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Jeonnam Regional Headquarters.

Through this business agreement, BGF Retail plans to widely promote our agricultural and marine products and contribute to revitalizing the local economy through mutual organic cooperation with Jeollanam-do by ▲promoting excellent raw materials such as Saecheongmu rice ▲launching new products using Jeonnam local specialties ▲discovering partner companies located in Jeonnam.

BGF Retail will stably supply high-quality agricultural and marine products from Jeollanam-do and introduce various products. This year, it plans to purchase Jeonnam agricultural and marine products worth 50 billion KRW and gradually expand the scale annually.

From this year, CU will use Saecheongmu single rice developed by the Jeonnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services in all convenience foods such as lunch boxes, triangular kimbap, and rolled kimbap. CU explained, "Saecheongmu rice is a new variety in Korea, known for its excellent taste and suitability for refrigerated distribution and storage, and its high quality is recognized to the extent that it is exported overseas." CU also added that it uses only newly harvested rice for cooked rice convenience foods this year and achieves the best rice taste through management by BGF Retail experts such as rice sommeliers.

So far, BGF Retail has continuously introduced convenience food series using Jeonnam local specialties such as Boseong green tea, Beolgyo cockles, and Namdo grilled short rib patties.

Since 2017, CU has been the only company in the industry to use Wando seaweed in triangular kimbap. The amount of seaweed CU is expected to purchase this year exceeds 1 million packs. When converted to monetary value, it exceeds 10 billion KRW.

In addition, BGF Retail plans to play a role as a promotional platform for Jeonnam regional festivals by launching collaborative products linked with local farms and agricultural food companies.

Lee Geon-jun, CEO of BGF Retail, said, "Through this business agreement, BGF Retail will introduce differentiated quality products using excellent agricultural and marine products from Jeollanam-do to contribute to increasing farmers’ income," and added, "We will consider various cooperation plans such as developing specialized products tailored to local characteristics using excellent raw materials."

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