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CJ CheilJedang's new kimchi plant in Australia bolsters localized production worldwide

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By Ko Dong-hwan
  • Published Apr 14, 2024 3:46 pm KST
  • Updated Apr 15, 2024 3:54 pm KST
CJ CheilJedang has begun manufacturing sliced kimchi, left, at its new plant in Austalia for local consumers. It already began manufacturing kimchi, right, at its U.S. plant for American consumers. Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang

CJ CheilJedang has begun manufacturing sliced kimchi, left, at its new plant in Austalia for local consumers. It already began manufacturing kimchi, right, at its U.S. plant for American consumers. Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang

CJ CheilJedang has begun producing kimchi in Australia, allowing it to provide local consumers with kimchi manufactured locally in response to rising demand for higher-quality kimchi instead of shipments from Korea, according to Korea's major food company, Sunday.

The company said it acquired a manufacturing plant in Australia and has introduced 400-gram and 900-gram sliced kimchi packs using locally provisioned ingredients under its signature brand Bibigo. So far, the only kimchi available in Australia has been exported from Korea.

Cha Yoo-jin, CEO of the company's Oceania subsidiary, said the new Australian kimchi plant is part of the company's initiative to globalize kimchi using Bibigo's rising brand power around the world.

CJ's latest launch of a localized kimchi plant in a country for export is preceded by its facility in the United States. Having acquired a kimchi manufacturing facility in the country, the company started producing kimchi in the U.S. and saw its kimchi sales across North America last year jump by 40 percent compared to the previous year.

The company said it plans to further diversify its kimchi products using the local plant to target the continent's mainstream markets.

CJ, under a vision to promote kimchi worldwide, is exporting its kimchi products to 50 countries including the U.S., Japan, Vietnam and Australia as well as Europe. The company saw rising figures in its performance last year. The average sales across the entire oversea markets increased year-on-year by 20 percent. Outstanding figures came from Japan with a year-on-year increase of 31 percent and Europe with 25 percent. In Europe, the company has expanded its markets to major local platforms like Costco.

The biggest performance came from Vietnam, where the company's products claimed 62 percent of the country's kimchi market last year.

Lim Hee-jeong, in charge of CJ CheilJedang's kimchi, said the company's patented probiotics and strictly inspected ingredients have made Bibigo kimchi popular around the world.