Korean kimchi makers spur production in US, Australia

South Korean top food makers such as CJ CheilJedang Corp. and Daesang Corp. are expanding their kimchi factories overseas to meet growing demand for Korea's signature spicy and fermented cabbage side dish in global markets.

CJ said on Sunday it has started producing Bibigo Kimchi in the US through its subsidiary Schwan’s Cosmos Food. CJ acquired Cosmos Food, which had been providing made-in-the-US kimchi to retail giants such as Costco and Walmart, last October and rebranded it as Schwan’s Cosmos Food to expand its kimchi business.

Daesang, known the world over for its kimchi brand Jongga, has been manufacturing 2,000 tons of the fermented cabbage dish per year in the US since it built a kimchi plant in the City of Industry, Los Angeles in March 2022. 

The company acquired Oregon-based Asian food firm Lucky Foods for 38 billion won in April 2023 to boost kimchi production.

Daesang and CJ, respectively the No. 1 and No. 2 kimchi producers in Korea, have seen rapid growth in global demand for the Korean dish over the past five years.

Korea’s exports of kimchi reached $155.6 million last year, up 10.6% from a year earlier and 48.4% from 2019, according to the Korea International Trade Association.

The US market stood out with a sharp increase in Korean kimchi imports last year – the country bought $40 million worth of kimchi in 2023, up 37.4% from a year earlier and 170.2% from 2019.

CJ has also tapped Australia for its kimchi business expansion as the country imported $6 million worth of Korean kimchi last year, emerging as the fifth-largest kimchi buyer following Japan, the US, the Netherlands and the UK.
 
CJ recently became the first Korean firm to produce kimchi in Oceania, by beginning production of sliced kimchi in Australia by using local ingredients. CJ has also renewed 10 types of Korean kimchi exported to Australia to meet local demand.

Daesang is constructing a kimchi plant in Krakow, Poland to produce the fermented dish there from 2025. The company established an Australian affiliate last October to accelerate its advance into the local food market.

Write to Hyung-Joo Oh at ohj@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.