CJ CheilJedang bets on Japan with 1st local dumpling plant

CJ CheilJedang's new manufacturing plant for Bibigo dumplings in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture / Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang

CJ CheilJedang has begun operations at its first manufacturing plant in Japan, marking the start of capacity expansion in its second-largest global market after the United States, the Korean company said, Tuesday.

The plant, located in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, is dedicated to producing dumplings for its signature brand, Bibigo. CJ CheilJedang, the food manufacturing arm of CJ Group, invested 100 billion won ($72 million) in the facility, which sits on a 42,000-square-meter site.

The new facility adds to CJ CheilJedang’s manufacturing presence in Japan, where it acquired local dumpling maker Gyoza Keikaku in 2020. They have since operated factories in Osaka, Gunma, Akita and Fukuoka prefectures.

CJ CheilJedang said the Japanese dumpling market is worth over 1.1 trillion won annually and more than half of the market is for half-moon shaped gyoza-style dumplings, Bibigo's specialty.

The company said that growing demand in Japan is expected to further boost its sales. In the first half of this year, its dumpling sales rose 28 percent from a year earlier, while its overall sales in the country climbed 27 percent. The company attributed the growth to Japanese consumer interest in its Bibigo brand.

A ceremony celebrating the factory’s completion was attended by CJ CheilJedang CEO Kang Sin-ho, CJ Foods CEO Gregory Yep and officials from Kisarazu City and Chiba Prefectural governments. “Chiba factory is CJ CheilJedang’s critical step forward for its businesses and sustainable growth in Japan," Kang said.

CJ CheilJedang CEO Kang Sin-ho, left, shakes hands with Shuichi Miyamoto, president of Itochu Corp. Food Company, at the Korean firm’s new manufacturing plant in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang

On the same day, the Korean company signed a partnership with Itochu Corp. to expand distribution of Bibigo products. Itochu is one of the largest retail corporations in Japan, and runs a nationwide distribution system. They also run Nippon Access, the largest food product distributor in the country, and the convenience store chain, Family Mart.

CJ CheilJedang’s dumpling, seaweed rice roll and sauce products are currently available at key online and offline retail outlets in Japan, including Aeon, Costco, Amazon, Rakuten, Don Quijote and Ito Yokado. Bibigo introduced its rice rolls to the Japanese market in 2023, making Japan the first country outside Korea to see the product launched.

The company said Japan, along with the U.S., is a key market for “expanding the territory of K-food.” CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun underscored the market’s importance by making Tokyo his first overseas business trip destination this year.

“The Korean wave in Japan, which recently saw a new boom, is an opportunity our Japanese businesses must not miss to expand K-culture and food trends there. Localization and building new global infrastructure should be accelerated in Japan to raise our global competence,” Lee said during his visit to Tokyo in April.

CJ Japan, one of the group’s Japanese subsidiaries, was established in 2002, overseeing local distribution of Bibigo products.