Home plus hosts food exhibition in London

By Kim Jae-won

Home plus said Tuesday that it has launched a Korean food exhibition at a Tesco store in London to promote the nation’s popular instant foods, beverages and liquors, among other representative snacks.

The Korean affiliate of British discount chain Tesco said that about 30 Korean companies will display 150 foods in the event, which will last through Sept. 2.

The event is designed to boost sales of Korean foods in the country as well as celebrate the Olympic Games.

The firms participating in the event include Busan-based beef retailer Kukje Food, Seoul-based instance noodle maker Hanil Food and Haeorum, an organic food producer. Big food companies, such as Lotte, CJ and Daesang, have also joined in the event to increase their sales and brand recognition in the country.

“Instance noodles and bulgogi sauces have been gaining popularity from British people,” said a Home plus spokesman.

The company said this is the first time that Korean foods are selling in a major British discount chain. Home plus will sell 49 foods from 19 companies in Tesco’s New Malden store in London from Sept. 3.

“We will spare no effort to support Korean companies to sell their products in Europe through Tesco’s stores,” said Lee Seung-han, CEO of the company.

Home plus is one of three major discount chains in Korea along with E-Mart and Lotte Shopping. It has 127 big stores and 268 medium-sized shops nationwide.