Cold Noodles Are a Must on Hot Days? Low-Carb, Low-Calorie 'Geonmyeon' Selling Well

Pulmuone's tofu noodles.

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Recently, Kim Areum, a woman in her 30s who started dieting, changed her entire diet to gluten-free foods made from ingredients such as buckwheat, brown rice, and tofu, reducing wheat flour-based foods. Kim, who used to enjoy eating ramen, bread, and carbonated drinks, recently underwent a health checkup and received a stern warning from her doctor that these foods cause indigestion, increase body fat, and raise blood sugar levels, making them the main culprits for rapid weight gain. Since switching her diet entirely to gluten-free foods, Kim has been feeling her weight gradually decrease and is regaining confidence in her diet.

As interest in health has grown more than ever, the food and dining industry is seeing a daily increase in demand for ‘healthy noodles’ made primarily from soybeans, buckwheat, arrowroot, konjac, green tea, and other ingredients instead of wheat flour.

According to the 230 aT Euromonitor report, the global gluten-free food market grew at an average annual rate of 8.2% between 2011 and 2017 and is expected to increase to over 16% by 2023.

In the past, cold noodles were the main menu item in summer, but recently, as the healthy noodle market has expanded, food companies such as Pulmuone have been releasing various products one after another.

For example, Pulmuone launched ‘Tofu Noodles’ in 2020, and within one year of its release, cumulative sales exceeded 5 million units, reaching 10 million units sold by April of this year. With the strong sales of tofu noodles, Pulmuone has also invested in expanding tofu noodle production facilities at its tofu factory located in Eumseong, Chungbuk.

School Food’s ‘Eoganjang Perilla Oil Makguksu’ saw sales in May of this year increase by 58% compared to July last year, shortly after its launch.

Daesang’s Lightly brand launched convenient meals such as konjac fried rice, konjac noodles, and konjac burritos in 2019, and since then, sales have doubled every year.

An industry insider said, “As interest in healthy ingredients rises, the number of consumers seeking healthy noodles is increasing,” adding, “From buckwheat to tofu, products that break the prejudice that substitutes are less tasty than wheat flour are being released one after another, and the related market is expected to continue growing.”

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