Daesang Launches 'Kimchi Globalization Outpost' Factory in LA, Aiming for 100 Billion KRW Sales by 2025

200 Billion KRW Investment, 10,000㎡ Scale
Annual Production Capacity of 2,000 Tons of Kimchi
1 Trillion KRW Annual Sales Target Within 3 Years
Improvement of Sales, Distribution, and Marketing in the US
Plans to Expand Supply to Europe and Other Regions

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] Daesang has become the first domestic food company to complete a large-scale kimchi production plant in the United States and is accelerating the globalization of kimchi.

Daesang announced on the 29th that it has completed a large-scale kimchi factory in the United States and has begun full-scale production.

The factory is located in the City of Industry near Los Angeles (LA), California, USA, and was built on a site of 10,000㎡ (3,000 pyeong). Approximately 20 billion KRW was invested to establish manufacturing lines capable of producing 2,000 tons of kimchi annually, along with raw material warehouses and other infrastructure. Daesang plans to expand automation equipment and facilities to increase annual sales of its local food business in the U.S. to 100 billion KRW by 2025.

To this end, the U.S. will serve as the forward base for the globalization of ‘Jongga Jip’ kimchi, with plans to expand supply to Western regions such as Europe, Canada, and Oceania.

At the LA factory, a total of 10 types of kimchi will be produced, reflecting local food culture, including vegan kimchi, baek kimchi (white kimchi), beet kimchi, pickled radish, seasoned kimchi, and cabbage kimchi. Along with kimchi, six types of O’food gochujang (red chili paste) developed in a thin sauce-like form similar to hot sauce will also be produced.

Daesang plans to further expand the placement of Jongga Jip kimchi in large stores such as Walmart and Costco.

Daesang expects that the full-scale operation of the LA factory will improve the efficiency of sales activities, production, distribution, and sales management of Jongga Jip kimchi in the U.S. Sales management based on quick demand forecasting has become possible, and raw material procurement can be operated flexibly and stably. The freshness of the products is also expected to be secured.

Lim Jeong-bae, CEO of Daesang, said, "The U.S. market holds significant meaning as a forward base for the globalization of kimchi," adding, "Once the LA factory in the western U.S. stabilizes, we will consider expanding the factory in the future."

Meanwhile, Daesang’s Jongga Jip kimchi export value increased from 29 million USD in 2016 to 67 million USD last year. It accounts for more than 40% of the total kimchi export value, ranking first. Jongga Jip kimchi has entered more than 40 countries worldwide, including the Americas, Europe, Oceania, China, Japan, and Singapore. Last year, the total domestic kimchi export value was 159.9 million USD, exported to 89 countries worldwide.

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