Sweet Success: How K-Ssamjang and Other Low-Sugar Delights are Conquering the European Market
Vivid Kitchen’s Sales Soar 2.5 Times Amidst Healthy Pleasure Trend
Sales of Dongwon Home Food’s sauce brand ‘Vivid Kitchen’, launched in 2020, are increasing rapidly. This is the result of focusing on the low-sugar, low-calorie sauce market in line with the ‘healthy pleasure’ trend of managing health in a fun way.
According to the food industry, sales of Dongwon Home Food’s ‘Vivid Kitchen’ in the first half of this year grew 2.5 times compared to the same period last year. Since its launch in 2020, annual sales have been rapidly increasing by an average of 170% each year. The initial monthly production volume, which was only 30 tons, has also jumped to 120 tons, more than a four-fold increase.
The company believes that anticipating the healthy pleasure craze and early penetration of the low-sugar, low-calorie sauce market was effective. Vivid Kitchen has expanded its lineup from popular products like tomato ketchup and mustard to low-calorie lines, while also targeting a dedicated group with low-sugar pork cutlet, oyster, and mala sauces and various salad dressings.
This growth is an encouraging result for Dongwon Home Food, which had previously relied heavily on the business-to-business (B2B) market. Dongwon Home Food began its business in 1993 with group meals and grew in size in 2007 by acquiring Samjo Celltec, then the largest seasoning company in Korea.
Dongwon Group has decided to fully attack the export market by introducing products that incorporate Korean-style fermented foods. Key items include ‘Kimchi Chipotle Mayo’ and ‘Korean Ssamjang BBQ Sauce’. A Dongwon Group official said, “We are currently exporting to the US, Australia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, and are planning to enter the European and Japanese markets in the future,” adding, “Our goal is to export 20 billion won next year.”
Dongwon Home Food plans to promote products using Korean fermented foods such as kimchi and ssamjang and also spur exports of K-sauce. The company will also enter the three major department stores in the second half of this year.