CJ CheilJedang to expand K-food production facilities overseas

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. is slated to increase food manufacturing facilities globally and launch businesses in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Its new strategies for the global food business focus on entering new markets and expanding existing production facilities overseas, the company said on Jan. 8.

The K-food giant will pursue a two-track business model. One is local production and distribution; the other is manufacturing food in neighboring countries and distributing those food products across borders.

First, CJ CheilJedang will secure dumpling production facilities in Australia and distribute the products through big-box stores. The company will also enter Canada this year, with dumplings, and ready-to-eat meals manufactured from its existing plants in the US.

The company will also secure plants in Indonesia and Malaysia to produce halal foods, and aims to enter the Middle East with the products in several years. For Thailand, the food giant will release wrapped foods, Korean fried chicken, and kimchi while boosting promotion of Bibigo, CJ CheilJedang’s flagship brand.

In Japan, the company will launch ready-to-drink versions of Micho, a fermented fruit vinegar, and ready-to-eat products conceptualized as healthy Korean food. It will also strengthen its Bibigo brand, and ramp up premium food lines via Schwan’s Company, a US food company that CJ CheilJedang acquired for $1.84 billion in 2019.

CJ CheilJedang posted 3.78 trillion won ($3 billion) in overseas revenue from the first to the third quarter of last year, up 19.4% from the same period of 2021. Operating profit during the first three quarters of 2022 reached 227 billion won, up 38.8% compared with the same period the previous year. About 46% of its overall food business revenue came from overseas.

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