"Doubling Production Capacity" Pulmuone Expands Pasta Production Line at Beijing Plant 1 in China

Pasta Production Capacity Doubled to 100 Million Units Annually
Accelerating Entry into China's Ready-to-Eat Meal Market

Panoramic view of Pulmuone China subsidiary Pumeiduo (圃美多) Beijing Plant 1, located on the factory site in Pinggu District, Beijing, China.

[Asia Economy Reporter Gu Eun-mo] Pulmuone, which succeeded in turning a profit in 2020 after 10 years of business expansion in China, is responding to the explosive demand for convenient pasta meals in China by expanding its state-of-the-art pasta production line at its Beijing Plant 1 and accelerating its fresh Home Meal Replacement (HMR) business.

On the 14th, Pulmuone announced that it will invest approximately 31.6 billion KRW to more than double its convenient pasta production capacity from 45 million units annually to 100 million units at the Pumeituo Beijing Plant 1 site (building area 4,060㎡, total floor area 3,846.84㎡) located on the Beijing Pinggu District factory site.

In April this year, Pulmuone completed Beijing Plant 2, equipped with a state-of-the-art packaged tofu production line, expanding tofu production capacity fourfold from 15 million to 60 million units annually. As the tofu production line moved to Beijing Plant 2, Pulmuone plans to expand the production line for its biggest hit product, ‘convenient pasta,’ by reallocating the production lines at Beijing Plant 1, and to expand its fresh HMR business throughout China.

Pasta accounts for 43% of the sales of Pulmuone China subsidiary Pumeituo Foods, making it the top-selling product. In addition to typical global pasta menus based on tomato, cream, and oil sauces, Pumeituo has developed local pasta reflecting local tastes and the vegan trend in China, releasing a total of about 20 pasta menu items.

The share of pasta sales in Pumeituo Foods was 34% in 2019, and with the explosive increase in demand for convenient meals among Chinese consumers due to COVID-19, it rose to 41% in 2020 and surpassed 43% last year, driving Pumeituo Foods’ sales growth. The second highest sales category is frozen products, followed by processed tofu and packaged tofu products. Thanks to the growth of key items such as pasta, Pumeituo Foods’ sales in the first half of this year are growing rapidly by 35% compared to the same period last year.

Through this expansion, Pulmuone plans not only to prepare for local pasta demand but also to accelerate its penetration into the Chinese home meal replacement market by upgrading pasta noodles and sauces.

Du Jin-woo, CEO of Pumeituo Foods, said, “Pasta demand continues to increase mainly among Chinese millennials, and pasta is expected to sustain high growth in the 1.4 billion Chinese market. Pulmuone will use Beijing Plant 1 as a production base to accelerate the growth of HMR in the Chinese market.”

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