CJ CheilJedang, "Prolonged Home Meal Trend... Basic Cooking Ingredient 'Chamgireum' in Spotlight"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] CJ CheilJedang analyzed that as the trend of ‘naesik (eating at home)’ continues long-term, sesame oil, one of the representative basic cooking ingredients, is experiencing an unexpected boom.

The sesame oil market had been stagnant and entered a mature phase. This was largely due to the decrease in home cooking frequency and the expansion of ready-to-eat meal product launches. However, the COVID-19 issue brought changes to the sesame oil market as well. With more consumers eating at home or cooking by themselves, the demand for sesame oil as a cooking ingredient increased.

In fact, sales of CJ CheilJedang’s Baeksul sesame oil have been continuously expanding recently. According to CJ CheilJedang on the 26th, sales from March to the 25th of this month grew by 25% compared to the same period last year. Especially, due to the untact (contactless) trend and the expansion of online consumption, online channel sales increased by about 50% year-on-year, showing a remarkable growth trend.

CJ CheilJedang’s strategy is to focus on the ‘home-staying group’ who prepare meals at home and continue the growth trend in the sesame oil market, which is enjoying an unexpected boom.

To this end, they upgraded the taste quality of ‘Baeksul Chamjinhan Sesame Oil’ and renewed it as ‘Baeksul Goso-ham Gadeuk Sesame Oil’ (Baeksul Sesame Oil Full of Nutty Flavor). Since the temperature at which sesame seeds are pressed is one of the important factors determining taste, they found and applied the optimal temperature to maximize the nutty flavor. By pressing sesame oil at a lower temperature than the existing product, bitterness and burnt taste were reduced, making it well suited for various cooking methods such as seasoned dishes, stir-frying, braising, and a variety of foods.

Recently, to meet consumers’ increasing demand for safe food, quality safety was further strengthened. Since this renewal focused on the ‘taste’ of sesame oil, a stricter sensory quality control system was applied in addition to the existing inspections.

A CJ CheilJedang official said, “It seems that Baeksul sesame oil, produced under strict quality control, has gained popularity in line with the social atmosphere where consumers prefer safe food,” and added, “We will strive to introduce products tailored to consumer needs based on differentiated research and development capabilities.”