Samyang draws record-high sales on Singles' Day in China

South Korea's Samyang Foods Co. announced on Thursday its sales during China's largest shopping festival, Singles' Day (Nov. 11), reached a new record high of 13 billion won ($9.9 million).

The company's sales on Nov. 11 Singles' Day increased 39% year-over-year and jumped 19% from the previous record of 11 billion won in 2021.

Samyang Food's products made a splash on e-commerce platforms in China. Sales on Alibaba and JD.com reached 8 billion won. Meanwhile, short-form commerce platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Pinduoduo contributed another 5 billion won.

The Buldak brand, famed for its spicy instant noodles, led the sales charge during Singles' Day. The Samyang brand noodles, along with Chacharoni—a popular Korean black bean noodle soup—also recorded strong sales.

Samyang Foods introduced a China-only limited edition of Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen or Buldak Ramen. This was sold out of its 2,000-box allocation early.

"Despite the economic slowdown in China, we were able to achieve good results by expanding our sales channels," a Samyang Foods source said. "Through Samyang Foods' Chinese corporation, we plan to actively target live commerce channels such as Douyin and Kuaishou, following the trends of the local online commerce market."

China is the number one export destination for Samyang Foods, accounting for 35% of its overseas sales. The company established a local corporation in Shanghai in September 2021. 

Samyang Foods has focused on bolstering sales and marketing through offline channels, such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

Starting this year, the company has also been rapidly growing its online presence to match the shifting focus of local distribution channels towards online and mobile platforms.

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com