CJ's 'K-Food Globalization' Surprises Even Harvard... Taught at Business School

First Case Study on Korean Food Companies
Chairman Lee Jae-hyun's Son Lee Seon-ho, Head of Food Growth Promotion, Participates
First? Best? Differentiated 'Only One Spirit' in Hetbahn Draws Attention
"Globalizing Korean Food Culture, Beyond Trend to Culture"

CJ CheilJedang's success story in globalizing K-food has been adopted as a case study at Harvard Business School in the United States. Lee Sun-ho, Head of Food Growth Promotion at CJ CheilJedang and son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, participated in the publication of this case study and stated, "We will further accelerate the globalization of Korean food culture."

K-pop fans visiting the Bibigo Food Street prepared by CJ CheilJedang at KCON 2022 LA held in Los Angeles, USA

On the 14th, CJ CheilJedang announced that its efforts and achievements in expanding its food business globally were selected as a research case by Harvard Business School and used in lectures. This is the first time that Harvard Business School, considered the world's top business school, has covered a Korean food company as a research case.

Published under the title "CJ Foods: The Path to Global Food Leadership," this case study details CJ CheilJedang's management strategies, achievements, and secrets in pioneering overseas markets with its seven major Global Strategic Products (GSP): bibigo brand dumplings, chicken, processed rice, K-sauce, kimchi, seaweed, and rolls.

The case study was co-authored by Harvard Business School professors Forrest Reinhardt and Sophus Reinert, along with researcher Shu Lin. Lee introduced the current business status and growth strategies. On the 10th (local time), the case study was first unveiled at a management education program attended by over 180 CEOs and managers from around the world.

Through the case study, Lee said, "As global interest in Korean culture spreads worldwide, CJ CheilJedang has been able to accelerate its global business expansion," adding, "We will further accelerate the globalization of Korean food culture so that enjoying K-food becomes not just a temporary trend but a cultural norm."

In particular, the case study highlighted Hetbahn, which embodies Chairman Lee's management philosophy of the 'OnlyOne spirit.' It discussed how CJ CheilJedang's business, products, and services have evolved through the 'OnlyOne spirit's' first, best, and differentiated strategies.

It also covered the selection of GSP items and business expansion after closely analyzing overseas market trends. The representative GSP product, dumplings, was introduced as achieving greater success through a 'localization strategy' that maintains the identity of Korean cuisine while catering to consumers' tastes in each country. Bibigo dumplings surpassed 1 trillion KRW in global annual sales as a single product in 2020 and have held the number one market share in the U.S. dumpling market since 2021.

The case study also included the achievement of growing sales from $2.3 billion in 2019 to $3 billion in 2022 after acquiring the U.S. frozen food company Schwan's. It emphasized that Schwan's flagship product, Red Baron, increased its market share in the U.S. frozen pizza market from 14% in 2019 to 21% last year, becoming a leading brand.

It also covered cultural marketing efforts that attracted young consumers worldwide to bibigo, including KCON, the world's largest K-culture festival, the PGA Tour's THE CJ CUP held since 2017, and the global partnership with the NBA's most popular team, the LA Lakers, which began in 2021.

The case study included country-specific strategies for global business expansion: △ integrating bibigo products into mainstream channels like Walmart and Kroger in the U.S. through Schwan's distribution network; △ rising to number one in kimchi and frozen convenience food sectors in Vietnam by acquiring local companies Kim&Kim, Minh Dat Food, and Cau Tre; and △ introducing products in Europe, where K-food is less familiar, through collaborations with local restaurant chains.

It was noted that CJ CheilJedang strategically selects markets suitable for 'K-food new territory expansion' after thoroughly reviewing various factors such as population, income levels, Asian food market size, number of Korean restaurants, and cold chain infrastructure in each country.

Attendees on the day reviewed CJ CheilJedang's acquisition process of Schwan's, local market achievements, and global branding and marketing strategies. They also discussed topics such as whether CJ CheilJedang should focus more on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or direct investment in new businesses to become a global food leader, and how to balance maintaining K-food's identity with localization strategies.

Meanwhile, Harvard Business School conducts most of its classes through case studies, and CJ CheilJedang's management case study is expected to be used as teaching material not only at this school but also at business schools worldwide.

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