The launch marks the first time that Korean gimbap, a dish made with cooked rice and various fillings rolled in a seaweed sheet, is being sold through mainstream retail channels in Australia.
The ready-to-heat products, namely Tuna Mayo Gimbap and Bulgogi Gimbap, were first launched in Japan last March, and have sold more than 1.5 million units within a year. They are currently retailing at over 2,000 mainstream channels in the country, including leading supermarket chain AEON.
Their popularity led CJ CheilJedang to bring them into Australia, where they are now available at over 1,000 Woolworths stores.
In particular, the Bulgogi Gimbap is made with plant-based ingredients instead of meat, which is said to be in line with Australian consumer trends.
In May last year, bibigo made its debut at Woolworths with six types of bibigo frozen dumplings (pork, chicken, Korean barbecue, vegetable, pork and kimchi, and shrimp).
With the addition of gimbap, CJ CheilJedang aims to boost local awareness and consumer experience of K-food.
“We are now introducing K-gimbap, which is popular globally, to Australian consumers. We will continue to increase K-food’s global market share through a variety of products that local consumers want.
“Gimbap is one of the strategic K-street food products that CJ CheilJedang is leveraging as a growth engine. We are focusing on entering more local retail channels and establishing local production facilities to further accelerate the expansion of our Australian business,” said Cha Yu-jin, CEO of CJ CheilJedang Oceania.
Aside from Woolworths, the company launched 14 types of products, including bibigo tteokbokki (hot and spicy rice cake), Hetbahn instant rice, and seaweed snacks, at Australia’s convenience store chain EzyMart last November.
The line-up was recently expanded to include bibigo pork and kimchi dumplings, and bibigo sliced kimchi.
Overseas sales driving profits
In the first quarter of 2024, CJ CheilJedang’s food business division recorded sales of KRW2.8315tn (USD2bn), an increase of 2.6% compared to the same period last year, and operating profit of KRW184.5bn (USD133m), an increase of 37.7% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, its overseas food business obtained sales of KRW1.3752tn (USD994m), underscoring continued growth in the core region of North America, as well as new markets such as Europe and Australia.
The key growth drivers are identified as its Global Strategic Products (GSP). For instance, bibigo dumplings has an “unrivalled” market share in North America, continuously placing first in sales that is three times more than the second-ranked brand.
In addition, sales of frozen chicken and instant rice products, which have been touted as “the next dumplings”, climbed by 25% and 23% respectively.
As such, they have been recognised as a new growth engine for CJ CheilJedang’s overseas food business.
Furthermore, sales in Europe and Australia, where the company is focusing on expanding distribution channels as part of its market expansion strategy, increased significantly by 45% and 70% respectively.
