CJ CheilJedang to rev up Korean food sales in Europe

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. is set to accelerate the expansion of its Korean food business in Europe. It aims to increase annual food sales in the European market from the current 60 billion won to 500 billion won ($45.9 million to $382.5 million) by 2027 as part of its mid-to-long-term business strategy, the company said on Tuesday.  

The food company has struggled with sales in Europe since it entered the market in 2018. Europe is known as one of the toughest regions for Korean food companies due to different food cultures and distribution environments by country and advanced food processing technologies. 

CJ CheilJedang has decided to strengthen its localized marketing strategy as Korean culture is becoming more popular in Europe. “We found customers at big-box stores in London and Paris collecting various items of our flagship brand Bibigo and saw the potential growth of Korean food,” said CJ CheilJedang CEO Choi Eun-seok. “We will set up strategies for a quantum leap in the European market as it is essential for our global market strategy,” Choi added.

The food company will launch Korean dumplings, or mandu, fried chicken, instant rice, spring rolls and other items in Europe. It aims for the top spot in the wrap market in Europe with mandu, spring rolls and dim sum.

CJ CheilJedang is also planning to promote Bibigo to some European food distribution channels in the second half, as well as produce food items from Mainfrost, the German frozen food company that it acquired in 2018, and the Vietnam-based Kizuna plant it constructed early this year. CJ CheilJedang's UK affiliate, founded in May, will lead the European business.

Bibigo’s success in the US market will boost the European business expansion, market watchers say. CJ CheilJedang’s sales in the US jumped from 2.68 trillion won in 2019 to 3.37 trillion won in 2021. It achieved 915.3 billion won in sales during the first quarter and expects record-high annual sales in 2022.

Write to Soo-Jung Ha at agatha77@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.