CJ Freshway, Famous as a 'Sauce Specialty Store,' Sold 26,000 Tons Last Year

Ros?, Mala, and Other Popular Flavors Drive Up Demand for Dining Out and Catering Sauces
CJ Sauce Distribution Sales Grow 31% Year-on-Year
Strengthening Position in the 3 Trillion Won Sauce Market Going Forward

Recently, the popularity of various sauces such as Rose and Mala has surged, leading to increased demand for sauces in dining-out and catering businesses. These sauces allow for easy preparation of high-quality flavors without complicated recipes, making it convenient to cook large quantities of food. CJ Freshway plans to continuously expand its B2B customized sauce products and strengthen its position in the domestic sauce market, which is estimated to be worth around 3 trillion KRW.

Last Year’s Sauce Distribution Sales Increased by Over 30%... Group Catering Drives Growth

CJ Freshway announced on the 31st that its sauce distribution sales grew by 31% compared to the previous year. Sales related to group catering and dining-out businesses increased by 42% and 31%, respectively. The annual sales volume reached 26,000 tons, averaging 71 tons sold per day. Notable sales performances were seen in menu-type ready-made sauces, franchise-exclusive sauces, and Chinese sauces (Mala sauce, oyster sauce).

Menu-type ready-made sauces showed strong demand in group catering. These sauces, such as Tteokbokki sauce and Malatang sauce, are launched as menu-specific products, reducing the effort of mixing multiple ingredients and allowing easy completion of dishes. A CJ Freshway representative explained, "They help reduce ingredient costs and improve labor efficiency while maintaining consistent taste regardless of serving size, making them a ‘universal item’ in catering kitchens."

Some products also helped drive the popularity of catering menus. Among the large-volume meal kits (about 30 servings) distributed by CJ Freshway to catering sites, steady sellers such as ▲Rose Cheese Ssok Ongbokki ▲Basil Cream Chubokki ▲Mala Cream Pastang kits have played a key role in increasing reorder rates by captivating the taste buds of catering consumers with their sauce components.

In the dining-out sector, franchise-exclusive sauces showed remarkable growth, with sales increasing by 48% year-on-year. Products that match popular dining-out menus, such as chicken seasoning sauces, pizza tomato sauces, and hamburger sauces, recorded high sales volumes. Franchise-exclusive sauces are developed to deliver the unique flavors of each dining brand’s menu and are supplied as exclusive products for each company.

The scale of exclusive product distribution in collaboration with renowned domestic and international food brands also expanded. Last year, the distribution scale of exclusive sauce products grew by 105% compared to the previous year. A representative example is the Mala sauce product line of ‘Haidilao,’ for which CJ Freshway secured B2B exclusive distribution rights in 2022.

January Launch of Oksabu Banjeom Jjamppong Sauce... Plans to Diversify New Products

CJ Freshway plans to steadily release various new products this year. In particular, it will focus on internalizing the entire product commercialization process, including product planning, formulation development, distribution, and sales strategy, while expanding its private brand (PB) product lineup. The core of product development is the ‘Integrated R&D Center,’ launched last year, and products are distributed through the B2B food specialist brand ‘It’s Well.’ Some products are produced by the manufacturing infrastructure ‘Central Kitchen’ and its subsidiary ‘Fresh Plus.’

In January this year, CJ Freshway introduced new products developed with Chinese cuisine master Chef Yeo Kyung-ok, including ▲Oksabu Banjeom Jjamppong Sauce ▲Garlic Bossam Sauce ▲Dongpo Pork Sauce ▲Chipotle Mayo. In February, two PB products tailored to the tastes of elementary, middle, and high school students ? ▲Japanese-style Maze Soba Sauce ▲Consomm? Seasoning ? will be launched as specialized school meal products.

A CJ Freshway representative said, “Our self-developed products are created considering the actual demand and convenience of various business sites such as dining franchise stores and group catering facilities, which results in high product competitiveness and positive customer responses. We will continue to expand B2B customized products optimized for dining-out and catering channels to solidify our leading position in the sauce market.”

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