CJ CheilJedang expands its marketing of seaweed snacks in UK

South Korea's CJ CheilJedang Corp. announced on Thursday that its "Bibigo Seaweed (Gim) Snack" has entered the UK food market through Asda and Ocado, the major supermarket chain in the UK. 

The move allows consumers across the UK to purchase the seaweed-based snack both online and in physical stores.

The company reported a robust 61% growth in sales of Bibigo Gim snacks as of July this year compared to the same period last year, signaling rising popularity for the product.

The Gim snack was initially introduced to the UK market in October 2022 in a stick-shaped form. In line with European sustainability trends, the plastic inner packaging has been replaced with paper.

The snack also earned a one-star award in last month's prestigious "Great Taste Awards", reinforcing its market reputation for quality and taste.

"Entering mainstream UK retail and winning at the Great Taste Awards serve as starting points for expanding the Gim business across Europe," a CJ CheilJedang source said. "We will continue to introduce products that meet the cultural and consumer needs of each country, thereby establishing Gim as a leading representative of K-Food in the global market."

The Gim snack is a strategic product for CJ CheilJedang, as the company aims to capture the global healthy snack market with a range of Korean Gim products catering to various consumer tastes.

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