"Target Accelerates European Market Entry: Kimchi Production Begins in Europe Following the US... Joint Venture Established in Poland"

Joint Venture Launched with Local Polish Company, Work Begins on Local Factory Construction
- Europe Emerging as Major Kimchi Export Market... Leading Globalization of Kimchi through European Expansion

Kyung-ae Lee, Executive Vice President of Daesang Global Food Business (sixth from the left), and Ukashi Gwengbinski, CEO of ChPN (fifth from the left), are posing for a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony for the establishment of the joint venture 'Daesang ChPN Europe'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Daesang is establishing a joint venture in Poland to build a kimchi factory and is intensifying its efforts to penetrate the European market. Following its factory in Los Angeles, USA, Daesang plans to use Poland as a production base in Europe to lead the globalization of kimchi.

Daesang announced on the 7th that it has recently focused on the fact that European countries are rapidly emerging as major export destinations for domestic packaged kimchi and has begun preparations to establish a large-scale kimchi factory locally.

To target the European market, Daesang plans to establish a joint venture with a local Polish company, utilize the local company's production facilities and distribution network to supply Jongga Kimchi to the European market first, and complete the new factory in Poland in 2024 to significantly increase kimchi production.

Daesang owns 10 overseas factories in countries including the USA, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and the Poland factory will be its eleventh overseas factory. It will be the third overseas kimchi production factory after those in Lianyungang, China, and Los Angeles, USA.

The Daesang kimchi factory to be established in Krakow, Poland, will cover a total site area of 6,613㎡ (2,000 pyeong). Construction began in 2023, with completion targeted for the second half of 2024. Daesang plans to invest approximately 15 billion KRW until the factory's completion and aims to produce more than 3,000 tons of kimchi annually by 2030.

Prior to this, Daesang completed a contract to establish the joint venture ‘Daesang ChPN Europe’ with ChPN (Charsznickie Pola Natury), a Polish fresh fermented vegetable specialist company. Daesang ChPN Europe, set to launch in January next year, will have a shareholding structure of 76% Daesang and 24% ChPN.

ChPN, established in 2016, distributes premium organic fresh fermented products in Poland and neighboring European countries. Since ChPN’s products are already sold at major local supermarkets such as Lidl, Carrefour, and Auchan, once kimchi production begins after the joint venture's launch, Daesang plans to actively enter Jongga Kimchi into mainstream local channels.

Daesang chose Poland as a forward base for pioneering the European market due to the ease of raw material procurement and accessibility to neighboring countries. With the establishment of the Poland factory, Daesang plans to take the lead in the European kimchi market. In addition to exporting domestic kimchi, Daesang expects to quickly respond to local conditions by producing products tailored to European consumer needs and obtaining production certifications. Daesang aims to increase annual sales of its European local food business to 100 billion KRW by 2025, leveraging the launch of the Poland joint venture and the kimchi factory.

Lim Jeong-bae, CEO of Daesang, said, “The establishment of the Poland joint venture for building a local factory in Europe is a significant new challenge for the globalization of kimchi,” and added, “We will do our best to promote the excellence and authenticity of Daesang Jongga kimchi in Europe following the USA.”

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