[Report] As the Factory Opens, the Aroma of Curry Fills the Air... Otogi Daepung Factory, the No.1 Product Hub in Korea

Production of Key Products Such as Curry, Ketchup, and Mayonnaise
Quality Control and Automation Equipment Maximize Production Efficiency

"Use your head and sweat."

When entering Ottogi Daepung Factory located in Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk, this phrase is engraved beneath the statue of the late Honorary Chairman Ham Tae-ho, the founder. It is the motto of 'Ottogi people,' meaning "improve work efficiency by the methods one has studied and do your best in the tasks assigned." The massive manufacturing facility, covering a site area of 104,853㎡ (about 32,000 pyeong) and a building area of 82,850㎡ (about 25,106 pyeong), faces the statue of Chairman Ham. Opened in August 2001, this is the production base for Ottogi’s main products. Here, the company manufactures products that introduced Ottogi to the world, such as 'curry,' as well as 'ketchup,' 'mayonnaise,' '3-minute meals,' and 'vinegar'?all products first launched domestically?and the best-selling items in the market.

Instant curry products are moving along the production line at Ottogi Daepung Factory.
[Photo by Ottogi]

A Hub of Steady Sellers

At Daepung Factory, which Ottogi first revealed to the media on the 8th, 452 items across 18 categories are produced. The total annual production weight of products is about 250,000 tons. In terms of value, it amounts to 864.1 billion KRW. This is the largest production facility within the company, responsible for over 27% of Ottogi’s total product sales revenue of 3.1833 trillion KRW as of last year. Passing the office building and entering the passageway toward the automated logistics center, the scent of 'Ottogi Curry,' served as the cafeteria menu that day, filled the indoor air.

Ottogi introduced the first powdered curry in Korea in May 1969. For over 50 years, it has led the domestic instant curry market and maintained the number one position with an 83% market share in powdered curry as of last month. The retort pouch product '3-minute meals,' considered the origin of domestic home meal replacements (HMR), is also mass-produced here. Retort products, including curry, black bean sauce, rice bowl sauces, and beef bone soup, totaling 62 items, hold an overwhelming market share of 89%. Kim Hyuk, General Manager (Senior Executive Director) of Ottogi Daepung Factory, said, "Our goal is to increase domestic consumers’ demand for curry and expand the overall curry market share."

Tomato ketchup and mayonnaise, first introduced domestically by Ottogi in 1971 and 1972 respectively, are also key production items at Daepung Factory. Both products have been loved by consumers for over 50 years and hold the number one market share at 91% and 79% respectively as of last month. Additionally, vinegar and instant rice markets have shown steady growth. Vinegar ranks first with a 64% share in the domestic seasoning vinegar market, and instant rice, launched in 2004 as a latecomer, has surpassed a cumulative production of 2 billion units. Cup rice products also recorded an all-time high market share of 37.8% as of September this year. Jeong Sang-hoon, Head of Quality Control at Ottogi Daepung Factory, stated, "Due to high demand for instant rice and cup rice products, production lines operate 24 hours a day to meet the demand."

An employee at Ottogi Daepung Factory is inspecting the mayonnaise production process.
[Photo by Ottogi]

Manufacturing and Logistics Automation... Strict Hygiene and Quality Control

The number of workers at Ottogi Daepung Factory is 307, which is not large compared to the facility size. Instead, the factory aims to be a smart factory, enhancing efficiency through automation systems. It is equipped with advanced facilities from manufacturing and inspection to packaging and logistics. For example, when producing a 100g product, in the past, workers manually adjusted the weight, causing inconsistent error margins. Now, the optimal weight is automatically controlled to prevent overfilling or underfilling of ingredients. Factory Manager Kim explained, "The yield (the ratio of finished good products) has increased, benefiting both the company and consumers."

Products packaged in boxes according to shipping standards are stored in the automated logistics center along rails. The automated logistics center, as tall as a 12-story apartment building, recognizes barcodes printed on the packaging to classify product groups by item, store them in designated cells, and ship them according to schedule. Ottogi places the greatest emphasis on hygiene management in production line operations. A representative example is the introduction of 'clean rooms' in the manufacturing line, considering the nature of the food industry. A clean room is a space managed to have fewer than 100,000 dust particles within a 1m x 1m x 1m cube. Director Jung explained, "We maintain a strict hygiene environment similar to semiconductor factories or hospital operating rooms while producing products."

Ottogi is exploring ways to build competitiveness overseas based on these products, which were the first in Korea and have secured market competitiveness. Although it joined the '3 trillion KRW club'?a group of only eight companies in the food industry by sales last year?its overseas sales ratio remains around 10%. This is because, unlike competitors who increased overseas sales mainly through ramen, Ottogi has evenly pursued other business sectors such as processed foods and sauces centered on domestic sales. Lee Myung-won, Marketing Team Leader at Ottogi, said, "We are implementing a differentiation strategy to expand the overseas market size by leveraging market-leading number one products and other types of items that have an advantage over competitors."

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