Shin Ramyun on the Global Bus Sold Better Than in Korea

Cumulative Sales of 690 Billion KRW in Q3
Overseas Sales Account for 53.6%
Annual Sales of 1 Trillion KRW Within Reach

US 'Matitneun Bonneung' Animation
14 Million YouTube Views

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seung-jin] Chapaguri from the movie Parasite, and raw ramen as a snack from the drama Squid Game. As Korean ramen gains worldwide popularity, Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun, the number one ramen brand in Korea, is expected to see its overseas sales surpass domestic sales for the first time.

Over 500 Billion KRW in Overseas Sales

On the 5th, Nongshim announced that Shin Ramyun’s cumulative overseas sales for the third quarter have exceeded domestic sales. The total cumulative sales of Shin Ramyun for the third quarter reached 690 billion KRW, with overseas sales accounting for 370 billion KRW, or 53.6%. Nongshim expects overseas sales of 500 billion KRW from the Shin Ramyun brand alone this year. The total sales forecast for Shin Ramyun is 930 billion KRW. Achieving annual sales of 1 trillion KRW from a single brand is now within sight.

Launched in 1986, Shin Ramyun began exports in 1987, stepping onto the global stage. Nongshim established overseas production bases starting with the Shanghai factory in China (1996), followed by the Qingdao factory (1998), Shenyang factory (2000), and the Los Angeles factory in the U.S. (2005). Nongshim also set up sales subsidiaries worldwide, including Nongshim Japan (2002), Nongshim Australia (2014), Nongshim Vietnam (2018), and Nongshim Canada (2020), creating a stable supply chain and responding swiftly to local markets. In 1999, targeting Chinese consumers passionate about Go, Nongshim launched the ‘Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Baduk Championship,’ conducting marketing activities worldwide that considered local cultures and sentiments.

Since 2014, Shin Ramyun has been repeatedly selected as a ‘Korean luxury loved by Chinese people’ by the People’s Daily and People.cn in China. In 2017, it became the first Korean food product to be stocked in over 4,000 Walmart stores across the U.S., growing into a global food brand sold in more than 100 countries.

‘Squid Game’ Effect Amid Home Cooking Boom

Following the spread of COVID-19, the ‘home cooking’ trend favoring eating at home over dining out has brought attention to Shin Ramyun. Last year, Shin Ramyun was recognized for its taste and quality as the ‘world’s best ramen’ by various media outlets, including The New York Times (NYT). This year, Nongshim capitalized on this momentum by conducting diverse advertising and promotional activities worldwide. In the U.S., an animated commercial titled ‘The Delicious Instinct of Shin Ramyun’ attracted about 14 million views on YouTube, and in Canada, advertisements were placed on buses and streetcars.

The global success of the Netflix original drama Squid Game has steadily increased interest in Korean ramen. In one scene of Squid Game, raw ramen is sprinkled with seasoning powder and eaten as a snack, which has sparked a trend of people imitating this on YouTube and other platforms. Just as the appearance of ‘Chapaghetti’ and ‘Neoguri’ combined into ‘Chapaguri’ in the movie Parasite significantly boosted Korean ramen exports last year, the current Squid Game craze is expected to further increase ramen’s popularity.

Nongshim plans to use this achievement as a new leap forward and intensify its global market strategy. With the second U.S. factory scheduled to start operations by the end of this year, it expects to increase supply not only to the U.S. and Canada but also to Mexico and South America, achieving even greater growth.

A Nongshim official said, “Now is a great opportunity to achieve remarkable growth as Shin Ramyun’s taste and quality are gaining global attention,” adding, “We will continue to grow Shin Ramyun’s overseas sales and aim to raise the overseas share of the company’s total sales to 50% within a few years.”