Lotte Hotels & Resorts to launch premium kimchi product

Lotte Hotels & Resorts, a leading South Korean hospitality company, announced on Thursday its intention to penetrate the domestic kimchi market, currently estimated at 1.4 trillion won ($1.06 billion). Their entry product is a premium Korean napa cabbage kimchi.

The company revealed that this napa cabbage kimchi utilizes a recipe crafted by Kim Song-ki, a distinguished Korean master cook and the company’s head chef. The product prides itself on high-quality ingredients, sourced from the best seasonal regions.

The cabbage is procured from Yeongwol in Gangwon Province and Haenam in South Jeolla Province. In contrast, the red pepper powder is derived from peppers gathered from fields directly overseen by Lotte Hotels, situated in Yeongyang, North Gyeongsang Province.

The seasoning blend incorporates premium salted fish, salted yellow corvina, freshly frozen sea-caught shrimp, and Shinan sun-dried salt, which undergoes a purification process over four years. In line with their commitment to quality, the company emphasized that artificial sweeteners are absent from their kimchi.

Lotte's kimchi will debut on Lotte Home Shopping come August 12 and will be available on Kakao Makers starting August 14. Plans are in motion to broaden its distribution across other e-commerce platforms beginning next month.

Write to Mi-Kyoung Lee at capital@hankyung.com