The Korea Times

Orion hikes snack prices for 1st time in 9 years

A shop employee displays Orion's Poca Chip products on a shelf at a large grocery store in Seoul, June 24. NewsisBy Kim Jae-heunOrion will increase prices of 16 products by an average of 15.8 percent on Sept. 15, its first price increase since 2013, the snack maker said Tuesday.By item, its most popular Choco Pie will see its price rise by 12.4 percent, followed by Poca Chip by 12.3 percent and Turtle Chip by 11.7 percent. Until early this year, Orion's original plan was to increase its share in the market by taking advantage of its products' price competitiveness instead of increasing their price. “We have been effectively freezing the prices of all our products by actively reducing manufacturing costs and pushing forward cost-effective management. However, due to the soaring prices of raw materials and energy sources since last year, the company has been under pressure to raise prices,” an Orion official said. According to the confectionery company, the prices of cooking oil, sugar and potatoes rose more than 70 percent year-on-year as of the end of August. The energy c

Sep 13, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Orion hikes snack prices for 1st time in 9 years

Politics

Collaborations key to attracting Generation MZ consumers

An advertisement for Oriental Brewery's new collaboration of sparkling liquor FiLGOOD with the London Fruit & Herb Company / Courtesy of Oriental BreweryBy Kim Jae-heunFood and beverage companies are adopting a distinctive marketing strategy of collaborating with other industry players to attract Korea's Generation MZ consumers ― millennials and Generation Z ― according to company officials, Monday. Collaborations between companies allow them to offer unique products and services that many millennials would not hesitate to pay for ― even if the prices are a little higher. Such collaborations also create synergies between brands.Oriental Brewery (OB) recently introduced a new sparkling liquor in collaboration with Britain's London Fruit & Herb Company.The product includes tea bags in four fruit flavors and OB's sparkling liquor, FiLGOOD, which comes in a 500-milliliter-size can. Consumers can choose to mix the different tea flavors into the alcohol beverage to their taste. The product is only available at GS25 convenience stores in Seoul for now. “We have introduced a ne

Sep 13, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Collaborations key to attracting Generation MZ consumers

Companies

Food prices set to increase further after Chuseok

Customers shop for vegetables at a retail store in Seoul on Aug. 10. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunFood prices are set to increase further after the Chuseok holiday as companies are moving to reflect soaring prices of imported raw materials, according to industry officials, Monday. The won's continued weakness against the dollar, as well as Typhoon Hinnamnor and other unfavorable weather conditions in recent weeks have made a range of agricultural products more expensive, putting a heavier financial burden on households.According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), the domestic supply of vegetables like green chili peppers, cucumber peppers and bell peppers have decreased this month, year-on-year. The KREI predicts the wholesale price of green peppers coming from Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province, to increase 89 percent from 25,400 won ($18.37) per 10 kilograms last September to 48,000 won this month. The prices of cucumber peppers and red bell peppers are expected to rise 10.2 percent per 10 kilograms and 46.5 percent per 5 kilograms, respectively, in the same period. However,

Sep 12, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Food prices set to increase further after Chuseok

Companies

Hyundai Motor opens Driving Experience Center in Taean

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, third from left, pose for a picture during an opening ceremony of HMG Driving Experience Center in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, on Sept. 7. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor GroupBy Kim Jae-heun Hyundai Motor Group opened the country's largest HMG Driving Experience Center inside Hangkook Tire & Technology's proving ground facility in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, the company said Wednesday.The local tiremaker established its proving ground facility in May to test its products from Monday to Thursday and lends the venue to the automaker for its customers' test-driving opportunities on Friday and Saturday. "This center embodies the Hyundai Motor Group's will to realize 'the possibility of future mobility into the daily life of customers,'" Chairman Chung said in his welcoming speech. "We will strive to provide visitors with an innovative driving experience and at the same time contribute to regional development."The driving experience facility consist of eight courses for testing braking, acceleration, drift, slalom, off-road and three

Sep 8, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Hyundai Motor opens Driving Experience Center in Taean

Companies

Lotte to expand edible insect biz with Aspire Food Group

Lotte Confectionery's headquarters in Yeongdeungpo Disctrict, Seoul / Courtesy of Lotte ConfectioneryBy Kim Jae-heunLotte Confectionery has joined hands with Aspire Food Group, a Canadian edible insect company, to strengthen is future food business.The two companies met at the headquarters of Aspire Food Group in Ontario and signed a memorandum of understanding on exclusive right to sell the Canadian products in Korea. They will also work together to expand the business worldwide starting in the Asian region and to conduct additional joint research utilizing insect materials.“We expect the edible insect business to play an important role in exploring the future food market. We plan to strengthen our strategic partnership with Aspire Food Group and expand the business model through various collaborations in the field,” a Lotte Confectionery official said. Founded in 2016, Aspire Food Group is a global leader in the field of producing protein powder using crickets. The food tech company developed its own cricket breeding method and adapted it with artificial intelligence an

Sep 7, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Lotte to expand edible insect biz with Aspire Food Group

Companies

Convenience stores need strengthened security

A teenager assaults a worker at a convenience store in Gangwon Province, Aug. 24. Screenshot from MBC News Desk showBy Kim Jae-heun Calls are growing for law enforcement to strengthen security at convenience stores, as the number of crimes committed in them has reached 33,863 over the past four years, according to retail industry officials, Tuesday. Aside from petty crimes, there have also been cases of murder, robbery, rape and assault. A total of 8,486 crimes were reported at convenience stores last year, according to National Police Agency data obtained by Rep. Oh Yeong-hwan of the Democratic Party of Korea.Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes occurring at convenience stores, with its reported cases increasing from 5,169 in 2018 to 5,853 in 2019, 5,944 in 2020 and 6,143 in 2021. On the other end of the spectrum, the number of reported murders decreased from four in 2018 to three in 2019 and one in 2020 but rose to three cases last year.Easy accessibility may be a contributing factor, as stores are commonly open 24 hours, tend to be at street level and are usually staffed b

Sep 7, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Convenience stores need strengthened security

Companies

Chuseok giftset trade flourishes on secondhand platforms

Chuseok giftsets are sold on Danggeun Market, on Sept. 6. Screencaptured from Danggeun Market website By Kim Jae-heunA 33-year-old office worker surnamed Jeon recently sold a giftset she received from her company for Chuseok on Danggeun Market, the country's largest online secondhand market platform. Chuseok is a major traditional holiday in Korea, where people visit their families to share and exchange gifts of food. This year it falls on Sept. 10. “Most Chuseok giftsets are comprised of canned ham or canned tuna, which I don't eat normally. So I decided to sell it for 40,000 won ($29.10), which is 10,000 won cheaper than the retail price. I am sure it was a good deal for somebody who needed it,” Jeon said. A 27-year-old graduate student surnamed Kim bought a red ginseng giftset box on Danggeun Market over the weekend. He was looking to buy a present for his parents for the upcoming Chuseok holidays and there were many giftset items available on the online secondha

Sep 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Chuseok giftset trade flourishes on secondhand platforms

Companies

E-commerce companies focus on creating synergy with newly acquired units

TMON employees hold a meeting at the company headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, in this 2020 file photo. Courtesy of TMONBy Kim Jae-heunFirst-generation e-commerce firms are in the process of creating synergy with newly acquired companies and finding new business opportunities in the increasingly competitive online shopping market, according to industry officials, Monday. Southeast Asian e-commerce platform, Qoo10, jointly established by Gmarket founder Ku Young-bae and eBay, acquired TMON last week. Qoo10 owns global distribution centers in 11 countries around the world through its logistics unit Qxpress. The company promised to provide a higher quality of overseas commerce services together with TMON.Another local e-commerce firm Danawa also combined with Korea Center, an operator of the country's oldest online shopping mall price comparison site Enuri.com, last month. The two companies plan to run their e-commerce platforms separately while establishing an integrated online shopping data analysis system in the long term to further enhance their market competitiveness. Korea's first o

Sep 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

POSCO International to ship corn to Korea from Ukraine

Korea-bound vessel loaded with corn waits to depart from the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, Sept. 5. Courtesy of POSCO InternationalBy Kim Jae-heunPOSCO International will transport corn from Ukraine to Korea, which had been stopped due to the ongoing war there with Russia since February. A ship containing 61,000 tons of the grain left the port of Pivdennyi, Ukraine on Aug. 16 and will arrive at Incheon Port in late September, the company said Friday.All the shipped corn will be used for animal feed, which will help stabilize domestic feed prices. “The importance of food security is being emphasized due to the global supply chain crisis. We will continue to increase overseas grain imports so as to contribute to domestic food security and price stabilization as the government recently suggested, 'securing food sovereignty,' is a national task,” a POSCO International official said. About 20 million tons of grain including corn and wheat are said to be siloed in Ukraine currently and major grain companies around the world are trying to secure supplies for import. The resumptio

Sep 5, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

POSCO International to ship corn to Korea from Ukraine

Companies

AmorePacific expands presence in North America with Tata Harper acquisition

Corporate logo of AmorePacific / Courtesy of AmorePacific By Kim Jae-heunAmorePacific has acquired U.S. natural luxury skincare firm Tata Harper to lower its dependence on the Chinese market and expand its business in North America, the company said Friday. It said it bought a 100 percent stake in Natural Alchemy, operator of Tata Harper, for 168.1 billion won ($123.36 million).It is the company's second-largest acquisition deal after COSRX, which AmorePacific purchased for 180 billion won last October. It is also the first time in 11 years that AmorePacific has acquired more than 50 percent of a cosmetics company, since buying French niche perfume firm Goutal in 2011. The Korean company has been focusing on introducing its own cosmetics brands in North America through local retail channels both online and offline. It has decided to diversify its business portfolio to beef up its brand power in the United States.

Sep 2, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Orion hikes snack prices for 1st time in 9 years

Collaborations key to attracting Generation MZ consumers

Food prices set to increase further after Chuseok

Hyundai Motor opens Driving Experience Center in Taean

Lotte to expand edible insect biz with Aspire Food Group

Convenience stores need strengthened security

Chuseok giftset trade flourishes on secondhand platforms

E-commerce companies focus on creating synergy with newly acquired units

POSCO International to ship corn to Korea from Ukraine

AmorePacific expands presence in North America with Tata Harper acquisition

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