Evolution of local vegan, vegetarian market

By Kim Jae-heun

Vegan and vegetarian food options here are no longer expensive and hard to find. They have become so common that people can buy them at convenience stores and local supermarkets.

Vegans and vegetarians used to be extremely rare in Korea, but with an increasing number of people choosing what they eat based on their beliefs and ethical values, the meat-free market has grown bigger than ever.

According to the Korea Vegetarian & Vegan Association, the vegetarian population in the country has soared by 10 times from 150,000 in 2008 to 1.5 million in 2018. Though the vegetarian food market has hardly developed into a major market, people's recognition of the concept has improved and many who have a particular interest in environmental issues are also moving toward a meat-free diet.

Catching onto this trend, local food companies have been expanding their business in the production of vegetarian food products.

Dongwon Food & Beverage signed an exclusive contract with Beyond Meat, an American producer of plant-based meat substitutes, to sell the Beyond Burger here. SPC Samlip also closed a deal last March with Eat Just to exclusively retail vegan foods here starting in the first half of this year. Eat Just is a firm in San Francisco that develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally produced egg products.

Domestic food company Pulmuone introduced the vegan instant noodle item “Jung Myeon: Delicious Nature.” The spicy-flavored noodles were certified by the Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Service and they became so popular among vegans and non-vegans alike that 2 million packs have already been sold in the last four months.

“We broke the prejudice that vegetarian food is not tasty by overcoming problems of not using meat in the soup,” a Pulmuone official said.

One of the country's largest food firms Nongshim launched the vegan brand Veggie Garden, Tuesday.

Nongshim Group's subsidiary Taekyung Nongsan with Nongshim Research Center invented a plant-based meat substitute production technique that it uses to make simple food products for Veggie Garden.

“Since we first came up with the prototype in 2017, we have been developing various dishes with popular vegan restaurant chefs in Seoul and invited customers to taste them. In this process, we have improved the taste and quality of our vegan food products,” a Nongshim official said. “We focus on offering a variety of delicious and easy-to-eat vegan foods to our customers.”

Veggie Garden's product range includes 18 items such as plant-based meat alternatives, frozen foods, sauces, seasonings and vegan cheese. The brand will provide the most diverse range of vegan products in the country and its vegan cheese is the very first of its kind produced here. Nongshim's vegan food products are scheduled to be released in the middle of January.

Nongshim has high expectations for its vegan brand as global trends are pushing the growth of the meat alternative market. In 2020, especially, the world started to take interest in “safe food,” and eco-friendly vegetarian food has become popular worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

American market researcher CFRA predicts that the meal substitute market will grow from 22 trillion won worldwide in 2018 to 116 trillion won in 2030.

“We will launch nine more vegan products in February to complete a line-up of 27 items in total,” a Nongshim official added.

Retail giants to enter vegan & vegetarian market

Lotte Shopping also opened a vegan restaurant at its supermarket in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, hoping to attract local residents.

“It has not been long since we opened the store but we are receiving good feedback regularly,” a Lotte Shopping official said.

E-mart has introduced a vegetarian zone at its 23 supermarket stores in the country selling instant food items made of vegetable ingredients. The vegetarian zone was first adopted in last August at 21 branches and E-mart has been expanding it thanks to the growing popularity.

Convenience stores such as GS25 and CU also introduced “vegan tteokbokki” and a “vegetarian lunch box,” respectively. The two firms said they will continue to satisfy customers' need for meat-free products.

The vegan market, which was initially limited to the food sector, has expanded to fashion and beauty industry. More fashion companies are reducing their use of animal furs and introducing apparel that abides by the Responsible Down Standard (RDS), a global standard for best practices in animal welfare.

Local cosmetics companies are introducing beauty products using plant-based materials too.

AmorePacific revealed seven types of new foundation cosmetics through its vegan brand Enough Project.

“Millennials are very much interested in vegan-related products. They will become the new normal in the future and we want to satisfy their need to gain a competitive edge in the upcoming market,” an AmorePacific official said.