'Bibigo Jumeokbap' Leads Growth and Evolution of Frozen Rice Market... 10 Billion Won in 5 Months

Explosive Sales Growth Amid the Spread of Home-Cooked Meal Trends
Continuous Expansion of Lineup Including the Launch of 'Bibigo Jumeokbap Butter Jangjorim'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] ‘Bibigo Golden Brown Grilled Jumeokbap’ is leading the growth and evolution of the frozen rice market. As a next-generation product boasting differentiated taste quality, shape, and convenience, it is creating a new trend and gaining great popularity.

CJ CheilJedang announced on the 7th that ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’ recorded sales of 10 billion KRW within five months of its launch. Initially introduced in limited distribution channels in December last year as a test marketing effort, ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’ was officially launched at the end of April after receiving strong consumer response. Since its launch, it has gained attention as a snack for children or a convenient meal replacement, coinciding with the spread of the home meal trend, resulting in explosive sales growth.

Based on this achievement, it is also driving market growth. The frozen rice market had been steadily growing but stagnated last year as growth slowed; however, it began to grow again after the launch of ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’. By August this year, the frozen rice market grew approximately 7% compared to the same period last year, but excluding the sales of ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’, the market size remained unchanged.

The secret to the popularity of ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’ lies in its unique R&D technology, which upgrades taste and cooking convenience beyond existing products. By combining ‘rice adhesion technology’ to prevent crumbling after shaping and ‘surface heat treatment technology’, it achieves a golden color and scorched rice texture, delivering delicious quality through to the finish.

The cooking convenience tailored to the ‘Gashibi (value of time)’ trend, which aims to save ‘my time and effort,’ also played a role. ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’ is specialized for microwave or air fryer cooking. Since no special cooking process is required, it can be easily prepared as a meal or children’s snack, which appears to have contributed to its popularity.

CJ CheilJedang plans to continue capturing diverse consumer tastes through ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’. Recently, they introduced ‘Bibigo Jumeokbap Butter Jangjorim,’ which features tender, texture-rich braised beef strips and savory butter for a full-flavored taste. Going forward, they plan to continuously launch products with high consumer preference in terms of raw materials, taste, and nutrition.

A CJ CheilJedang official stated, “‘Bibigo Jumeokbap’ has established itself as a product perfectly aligned with recent food culture and consumer trends, receiving great love, which is highly meaningful,” adding, “We will continue to strive to introduce ‘innovative products’ that present new rice culture and trends to consumers.”