Tart, Cake, Skewers... Daesang Jongga's 'New Kimchi World'

Operating Korea's First Kimchi Popup in Seongsu-dong Until the 15th
Aiming to Solidify the Status of a Global Leading Kimchi Brand
Kimchi Exports Reach $81 Million in the First Half, with Jongga Accounting for Over Half
Focusing on Localization Beyond Export

Daesang is focusing on establishing the formula ‘Kimchi = Jongga’ by consecutively showcasing pop-ups of the kimchi brand ‘Jongga’ both domestically and internationally. Daesang plans to widely promote Jongga as the representative kimchi brand through the diverse possibilities of kimchi and strengthen its global market strategy by moving beyond exports to local production in the future.

Special menus made using kimchi available in the gourmet zone of the kimchi popup 'Kimchi Blast Seoul 2023' opened by Daesang Jongga in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. (From left) 'Jongga Baek Kimchi Golden Tart', 'Jongga Napa Cabbage & Young Radish Kimchi Arancini', 'Jongga Kimchi Cake', 'Jongga Maybe? Kimchi! Daily Skewers'

According to the food industry on the 11th, Daesang Jongga is operating Korea’s first kimchi pop-up, ‘Kimchi Blast Seoul 2023,’ in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, until the 15th. This pop-up focuses on presenting differentiated experiential kimchi content that breaks away from stereotypes, such as kimchi powder that can be sprinkled on French fries, chicken, or sausages, as well as kimchi tarts and kimchi cakes, under the theme ‘Kimchi, a joy never experienced before.’

Daesang chose to showcase a pop-up with kimchi, the food most familiar to Koreans, to firmly establish its position in the domestic market, which can be considered its home base, before fully launching its overseas market strategy. Currently, the domestic packaged kimchi market is dominated by Daesang and CJ CheilJedang. According to market research firm Market Link, Daesang’s domestic retail sales in the first half of this year reached 447.6 billion KRW, accounting for a 41.9% market share, followed by CJ CheilJedang with 38.8% (415 billion KRW). Although Daesang maintains the top position, CJ CheilJedang’s pursuit is fierce, and recently, emerging companies have been gradually expanding, so Daesang needs to secure its domestic market before targeting overseas markets.

Through this pop-up, Daesang plans to showcase the diverse possibilities of kimchi not only to the younger generation, who have relatively low engagement with kimchi, but also to consumers of all ages seeking new changes in kimchi. A Daesang representative explained, “Based on Jongga’s history as Korea’s first packaged kimchi brand, we planned this pop-up to imprint the message ‘Kimchi is Jongga’ and solidify the status of Jongga as a global representative kimchi brand.”

Daesang Jongga is accelerating efforts to take the lead in the overseas kimchi market by operating kimchi pop-ups not only in Korea but also abroad. Previously, a Jongga pop-up store was operated for three weeks until the 8th in London, UK. Europe is considered a new frontier in the global kimchi market, with the Netherlands and the UK joining Japan, the US, and Hong Kong as the top five kimchi export countries. From 2017 to last year, kimchi exports to Europe have grown by an average of over 17% annually, and as of last year, Jongga’s kimchi exports to Europe accounted for about 56% of Korea’s total exports.

As the scale of kimchi exports continues to grow, the share held by Jongga is also steadily increasing. According to the Korea Customs Service, kimchi export value in the first half of this year was about 80 million USD (approximately 110 billion KRW), up about 5% from the same period last year (77 million USD). Jongga’s export value exceeded half of the total exports at 41 million USD. While Jongga’s share of total kimchi exports was around 38% in 2018, it has increased by 14 percentage points in about five years.

As export value increases, localization efforts are also accelerating. Early last year, Daesang completed a kimchi factory in Los Angeles, California, the first of its kind by a Korean company, covering about 3,000 pyeong (approximately 9,917 square meters). So far, about 20 billion KRW has been 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 sequentially expand automated equipment and facilities, aiming to achieve annual local food business sales of 100 billion KRW by 2025.

Recently, Daesang acquired the local food company ‘Lucky Foods’ to secure additional production bases. Lucky Foods, an Asian food specialist company acquired for 38 billion KRW, diversifies its business with various product lines including ‘Seoul’ kimchi, spring rolls, and sauces. A Daesang representative explained, “Since the Jongga brand is already stocked in major local kimchi distribution channels in the US, the acquisition of Lucky Foods allows us to additionally utilize the local distribution channels secured through this acquisition.”

Next year, Daesang plans to actively enter Europe, which is rapidly emerging as a major export market. After establishing a joint venture with a local Polish company, Daesang will first supply Jongga kimchi to the European market using the local company’s production facilities and distribution network, and then begin full-scale kimchi production by completing a new factory next year. The Krakow kimchi factory in Poland, scheduled for completion in the second half of next year, will cover about 2,000 pyeong and aims to produce more than 3,000 tons of kimchi annually by 2030.

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