Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Korean foods clad in local costumes
.jpg?w=728)
“Goldfish Waffle” brings Korean street food to Londoners’ dining table. / Courtesy of CJ Foodville
By Park Jin-hai
Red-bean dessert, ginseng go global
Steak bibimbap, launched by CJ’s bibigo, in the United States, caters to the meat-loving American taste. / Courtesy of CJ Foodville
KGC’s product combines ginseng and chicken essence / Courtesy of KGC
Orion’s Choco Pie with the Chinese name “Horyeowoo” has “in” or benevolence on its package, since it is one of Chinese’s supreme values. / Courtesy of Orion
By Park Jin-hai
Spurred by the global popularity of Korean culture, hot dogs sprinkled with “kimchi” toppings are sold on the streets of New York and Londoners have “bung a bbang” or goldfish waffles made Korean-style for dessert.
After over a decade of trial and error, the food and confectionary makers finally prove that they can create new markets with smart ideas that intertwine their foods with the culture of target markets.
The latest example is the goldfish waffles. Based on the idea that Londoners love waffles, it introduced goldfish-shaped waffle with red bean fillings, a common Korean street food, as a desert dish in its branch in London. Instead of single items locally sold, they are served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and berries.
When the CJ Foodville first launched its global brand bibigo and started selling “bibimbap” (rice mixed with assorted vegetables) with great fanfare, people doubted its global appeal.
But over the three years, it sold 500,000 servings in 14 nations. And its success is believed to stem from a localization strategy.
It basically let customers choose from four kinds of rice, six toppings and four sources, but with local variations. For instance, in the United States, it puts steaks in the option, given the high meat consumption of Americans. Also, instead of Korean vegetables, it let customers choose broccoli as its replacements.
“Bibigo came into birth after five years of preparation. Marking its third anniversary this year, it has landed successfully in six countries. But, still there is a room for improvement to globalize Korean foods,” said a manager of the food chain.
Orion, the country’s number two confectionary maker, is not second in terms of its localization marketing strategies. Its long-running hit item “Choco Pie,” a chocolate-coated cake with marshmallow filling, showcases what good localization can do.
“We don’t serve the products identically in all the markets,” said an official at Orion confectionary.
“Choco Pie tastes slightly different in China, reflecting the different taste of the region. While, in Russia, they are served a little smaller, because Russians prefer bite-size snacks,” he said.
In addition to the product itself, the brand name and concept, too, have local colors. Instead of Choco Pie, “Horyeowoo,” a good friend in Chinese, is used for the Chinese market. Its brand concept of “Jeong” (love or compassion) is replaced with “In,” which stands for benevolence, on local packaging, because Chinese regard “In” as their supreme value.
Since it first opened a Beijing office in 1993, its flagship product is now available in over 60 countries. Last year alone, it sold 2 billion packets globally.
Korea Ginseng Corp., best known for its flagship red ginseng brand "Cheong Kwan Jang", is another example that made the localization strategies to its advantage.
The company, largely regarded as one that has raised Korean ginseng brands to the levels of global health supplement products, says that its new product is well received in the Chinese market.
It simply enhanced the product by combining it with chicken essence, widely used in China and East Asian countries as popular health supplement.
“Since ginseng’s power boosting effect was also known in the market, by combining it with traditional remedies, we could only expect the sales to rise,” said a manager of the KGC.
Since it was launched in late 2011, some 400,000 bottles were sold in just one and a half years.
The following year, riding on the exponentially growing energy drink market, it also launched “G-shot energy” drink in the United States. The drink blended ginseng extract with vitamins, but its bitter taste that traditionally accompanies ginseng has been removed. The product was received by customers as new and sold through some 30 US brand shops.
“As it was on the market only six months, it is premature to tell if it is a success or not. But, we are planning to market it in various ways through our distribution channels,” said the manager.