CJ Freshway, 'Ainuri·Healthy Nuri' Double Growth in 3 Years... Future Growth Engine

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] CJ Freshway's specialized brands for infants and the elderly, 'Ainuri' and 'Healthynuri,' have expanded sales despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, establishing themselves as future growth engines.

According to CJ Freshway on the 22nd, Ainuri and Healthynuri's sales this year grew by 110% and 82%, respectively, compared to 2018. The average annual growth rates are also expected to reach 28% and 22%, respectively. In particular, both brands are expected to achieve their highest performance since their launch this year.

The number of client companies continues to increase. In 2021, the number of clients for Ainuri and Healthynuri increased by approximately 65% and 56%, respectively, over three years. CJ Freshway explained that this is the result of multifaceted efforts such as private brand (PB) products, specialized distribution stores, and network strengthening, which have expanded product and service capabilities and synergy with central kitchen infrastructure, demonstrating differentiated competitiveness.

CJ Freshway's Ainuri and Healthynuri supply customized ingredients and provide various services such as hygiene management and educational consulting. Ainuri supplies primary products certified by the government to infant institutions such as daycare centers and kindergartens, including ▲eco-friendly, organic, GAP-certified agricultural products ▲radioactivity-tested seafood ▲antibiotic-free livestock products. Processed products are composed of premium snacks made with domestic ingredients and certified children's favorite foods, offering customized products such as individually packaged portions considering children's eating abilities, as well as using eco-friendly packaging materials.

Healthynuri supplies ingredients to nursing facilities such as hospitals and welfare centers and is expanding its service area through the development of senior-friendly foods, customized menus for welfare facilities, and hygiene management and educational consulting. Additionally, CJ Freshway contributes to strengthening senior-customized nutrition management through know-how accumulated from operating hospital patient meals, including therapeutic diets and elderly meals. Going forward, CJ Freshway plans to provide optimized differentiated solutions for each customer group by adding new growth engines to the competitiveness it has built so far.

CJ Freshway will strengthen the lineup of PB products that have obtained national certification. Ainuri plans to launch more than 20 types of eco-friendly agricultural, livestock, and seafood products certified for pesticide-free, antibiotic-free, seafood quality certification, and seafood traceability within this year, and will diversify the types of exclusive PB products such as milk and kimchi early next year. Healthynuri has developed four types of care food products composed of softened foods and obtained senior-friendly food KS certification from the Korea Food Research Institute and senior-friendly excellent food certification from the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency. These care food products are scheduled for release in January next year, targeting welfare facilities.

CJ Freshway also plans to pursue business diversification. A representative example is the meal solution business that regularly supplies pre-processed ingredients, semi-cooked, and fully cooked products in meal form to kids and senior clients who face difficulties in meal operation due to lack of cooking facilities and personnel.

Kang Yeon-jung, Head of CJ Freshway's Strategic Business Division, said, “Based on the brand competitiveness of Ainuri and Healthynuri, we are maintaining steady annual growth in the kids and senior ingredient markets and are focusing all capabilities to further solidify our position. We will provide optimized differentiated solutions for each customer group in line with changing trends and foster a healthy food culture.”

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