As Restaurant Naengmyeon Prices Rise, 'Jipnaeng' Gains Popularity... The 'Naengmyeon Battle' Heats Up

Average Price of One Serving of Naengmyeon in Seoul Area 10,269 KRW
Homemade Naengmyeon Gains Popularity as Specialty Naengmyeon Becomes Expensive
Annual Market Size 50 Billion KRW... Expected to Grow This Year
Intense Industry Competition... New Products Launched Continuously

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The home cold noodle market is showing signs of booming as the peak season of summer approaches. Since the beginning of this year, the price of cold noodles at restaurants has risen sharply, leading more consumers to turn to affordable summer noodles they can make at home.

According to the industry on the 17th, the home cold noodle market is estimated to be worth around 50 billion KRW annually. Recently, price increases at cold noodle specialty stores due to rising ingredient costs, combined with the trend of preferring home meal replacements (HMR), have created a ripple effect, and the market size is expected to grow further this year. About 60% of total sales are concentrated between June and August, and with an early heatwave expected this summer, competition among industry players is already fierce.

In the HMR cold noodle market, CJ CheilJedang maintains the number one market share. According to Nielsen Korea, CJ CheilJedang has ranked first in cold noodle product sales for eight consecutive years from 2014 to last year. This year, sales of cold noodle products from March through last month increased by 12% compared to the same period last year. CJ CheilJedang plans to further expand its market share with a variety of products including the ‘Cheongyang Chili Spicy Mul Naengmyeon’ released on the 9th, as well as ‘Dongchimi Mul Naengmyeon’ and ‘Hamheung Bibim Naengmyeon.’ The Cheongyang Chili Spicy Mul Naengmyeon features CJ CheilJedang’s proprietary ‘Myeon-seon (麵線) separation technology,’ which helps the noodles separate strand by strand. An online promotional event offering discounted cold noodle products is also being prepared for the summer season.

Pulmuone has also officially started targeting the peak cold noodle market. Pulmuone’s cold noodle product sales increased by 20% compared to last year over the past month. Last month, Pulmuone launched two types of buckwheat cold noodles containing 83% buckwheat in the noodles. The buckwheat was carefully selected for its top quality, grown in highland plains with optimized climate and soil conditions, and Pulmuone’s ‘ultra-high pressure noodle-making process’ was applied. In addition, Pulmuone plans to expand its market share by promoting products such as ‘Dongchimi Naengmyeon,’ ‘Hamheung Bibim Naengmyeon,’ and ‘Pyongyang Naengmyeon.’

Dried noodles in the form of summer noodles are also steadily gaining popularity. Nongshim’s dried cold noodle product, Dungji Naengmyeon, has seen sales increase by 10% from April to the present compared to the same period last year. Cumulative sales have surpassed 200 million units so far this year. Since its launch in 2008, Dungji Naengmyeon has established itself as a steady seller. The noodles are dried in a bird’s nest shape and air-dried as is, applying Nongshim’s proprietary nesting method. Recently, the packaging was changed to a band to simplify packaging.

An industry official said, "Demand for home meal replacements surged due to COVID-19, and with recent increases in ingredient costs continuing, competition in the cold noodle market is expected to be even fiercer this year," adding, "The quality of products has improved to rival that of specialty stores, and the variety of products is also diversifying."

Meanwhile, according to statistics from the Korea Consumer Agency’s Price Information Service, the average price of one serving of cold noodles in Seoul reached 10,269 KRW as of last month, surpassing 10,000 KRW. This is 9.8% more expensive than the same period last year (9,346 KRW). Cold noodle prices rose 4.2% over three years from 2019 to last year, but the increase over one year has more than doubled that. In fact, famous cold noodle restaurants in Seoul such as Pildong Myeonok, Eulji Myeonok, and Bongpiyang began raising prices one after another starting early this year.

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