Captured the US Online Market with "Hancheon"

Amazon's Top Seller in Related Field 'Livingjin' CEO Jin-A Kim
Overcoming Crisis through Joongjin Gong's 'Online Direct Export Support Project'
Will Continue Developing Global Food Ingredients

Jina Kim, CEO of Livingjin

There is a domestic startup that has gained attention by ranking first in sales in its field on the global platform Amazon. It is Livingjin, which introduced 'Agar,' a substitute for gelatin, in powder form. The differentiated competitiveness that this startup emphasizes is sincere and active communication with customers.

Jina Kim, CEO of Livingjin, stated, "We will continue to develop global food ingredients and share food culture through communication with customers, aiming to become a company that finds ingredients from nature and benefits humanity." Livingjin sells agar made from plant-based ingredients on Amazon. Previously, gelatin, used as a raw material for making jelly, was sold on Amazon, but it is usually extracted from animal skins, tendons, or cartilage, and the manufacturing process may involve chemicals or unsanitary processing. CEO Kim focused on the fact that agar made from Eucheuma seaweed produced in Korea's clean waters can be used as a substitute for gelatin and planned the Amazon business accordingly.

His personal experience is reflected in this. In the early stages of his business, CEO Kim created a brand related to phytoncides and rose to number one in the related industry through blog marketing. However, he left this business to a partner and decided to travel around 30 countries worldwide to promote Korean products globally. Bringing Korea's agar, CEO Kim entered Amazon in 2016 and grew this product into a bestseller and top-selling brand based on his online marketing know-how.

In the fierce competition on Amazon, emotional marketing such as including handwritten letters was effective in establishing Livingjin's products. Customers who experienced this promoted the product directly on social media, leading to word-of-mouth and a rise in Amazon sales rankings. The product's market share on Amazon approached 80%.

Livingjin plans to enhance its customer community system through active investment. This is directly linked to business opportunities. For example, based on communication to understand customer needs, Livingjin developed plant-based cheese kits and fermented bread kits suitable for American culture and taste, which will be launched early next year.

Livingjin overcame the crisis caused by fierce competition by participating in the Small and Medium Business Corporation's 'Online Direct Export Support Project.' Through one-on-one mentoring with professional companies, they aggressively implemented high-efficiency keyword marketing and top-ranking marketing. As a result, they recorded the highest sales in the third quarter of this year. Since participating in the Small and Medium Business Corporation project, average sales volume increased by 14%. Sales, which were around 120 million KRW in the first year of incorporation in 2018, are expected to rise to about 1.3 billion KRW this year. CEO Kim said, "By participating in the Online Direct Export Support Project, we overcame the crisis and secured an opportunity to firmly establish our position."