Samyang Foods to boost overseas presence with 'Buldak Ramen'

In this photo provided by Samyang Foods, models promote Buldak Ramen at a supermarket in Vietnam. / Courtesy of Samyang Foods

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Samyang Foods will expand its overseas presence by promoting localization strategies and expanding sales channels, in accordance with the global Buldak Ramen craze.

The company said Tuesday it expects exports to grow more than 20 percent this year from the previous year, boosted by strong sales in Southeast Asia and China.

Currently, China is the biggest exporter of Buldak Ramen, accounting for about 50 percent. It is followed by Southeast Asia, which accounts for about 35 percent of the overseas market.

Samyang Foods made an aggressive foray into the halal market by getting approved and certified by MUI, Indonesia's top Islamic clerical body, in 2017.

The halal certification has enabled the product to hit local shelves in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia.

This year's overseas sales are expected to exceed 500 billion won ($420 million) for the first time, according to the company.

"We will promote localization of distribution and expand sales channels in accordance with consumer demand in overseas markets," a Samyang Foods official said.

Additionally, Samyang is moving to social media to actively promote brand awareness by using its Buldak character.

The launch of Buldak Ramen has been a huge achievement, selling as much as $200 million in the overseas market. More than 80 percent of Samyang's overseas sales came from the instant noodle brand.

The global popularity of the spicy chicken instant noodles has resulted in surging sales since its launch in 2012.

Samyang Foods' annual sales rose from around 300 billion won in 2015 to 469 billion won last year.

Its operating profit also skyrocketed from 7.1 billion won to 55.1 billion won in the same period. The number of employees rose by 439 to 1,546 at the end of 2018.

Such record-high figures established strong fundamentals for continuous growth.

Buldak Ramen became popular online, as global consumers were amused by watching others challenging themselves to eat the super spicy instant noodles.

The "fire noodle challenge" videos went viral on YouTube, which led Samyang Foods to export the product to 76 countries, including the U.S. and Australia, as well as European and Southeast Asian countries.

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