Samyang Foods Launches "Maptaeng Cool Spicy Bibim-myeon" One Year After Halting Bibim-myeon Production
Bibim-myeon Market Expected to Reach 200 Billion KRW This Year
Paldo's Market Share Declines... Samyang's Third-Generation Owner Steps Up
As Samyang Foods makes a renewed challenge in the bibim-myeon market, attention is focused on the background. Samyang Foods stopped producing bibim-myeon last year, but with the early onset of heat showing signs of rapid market growth, it is analyzed that they have re-entered the market. With the market share of 'Paldo Bibim-myeon,' considered a strong player in bibim-myeon, decreasing, there is keen interest in whether Samyang Foods will cause a seismic shift in the bibim-myeon market.
According to the industry on the 27th, Samyang Foods' 'Maptaeng Cool Spicy Bibim-myeon Kimchi Flavor,' released on the 20th, has been available in large supermarkets since the day before. This product was made by combining a special gochujang sauce with spices and emphasized a refreshing aftertaste by using 'Cubeb pepper' from the Southeast Asian region. Attention was also paid to providing a crunchy texture with kimchi and vegetable flakes.
The launch of Samyang Foods' new bibim-myeon product is considered unusual by the industry. Last year, Samyang Foods converted its bibim-myeon production line to the Buldak Bokkeum-myeon series, discontinuing products such as 'Yeolmu Bibim-myeon' and '4-Gwa Bibim-myeon.' Because of this, there were expectations in the industry that the company might be withdrawing from the bibim-myeon business.
A food industry insider said, "Samyang Foods said it stopped producing bibim-myeon to focus on export volumes of Buldak Bokkeum-myeon, but in reality, Samyang's seasonal noodles did not gain much popularity," adding, "We expected the discontinuation of seasonal noodles following the production halt, but we did not expect production to resume in less than a year."
The industry views Samyang Foods as paying attention to the recent growth trend in the bibim-myeon market and making a renewed challenge. This is because with the early forecast of hot weather this year, there is an expectation that the bibim-myeon market could grow further. Bibim-myeon overwhelmingly sells in the summer season. The ramen industry forecasts that the bibim-myeon market size will exceed 200 billion KRW this year. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the domestic bibim-myeon market size grew from 75.7 billion KRW in 2015 to about 180 billion KRW last year.
Another background for Samyang Foods' renewed challenge is the fact that the market share of 'Paldo Bibim-myeon,' the undisputed number one in the bibim-myeon market, has been decreasing every year. According to market research firm Nielsen data, Paldo Bibim-myeon, launched in 1984, saw its market share drop from nearly 80% to 53% as of June last year. Nongshim's 'Bae Hong Dong' recorded a market share of about 20%, ranking second, while Ottogi, led by 'Jin Bibim-myeon,' recorded a market share in the 10% range, ranking third.
In the industry, there is also an analysis that Samyang Foods' release of the new bibim-myeon product under the 'Maptaeng' brand is a strategy to support Jeon Byeong-woo, the third-generation owner who recently took the forefront of management and is the Executive Director of Strategic Planning at Samyang Round Square. Jeon is the son of Kim Jeong-su, Vice Chairman of Samyang Foods and CEO of Samyang Round Square, and is known to have directly led the entire product development process from planning to design and advertising of Maptaeng.
Samyang Foods is reportedly considering a business utilizing the 'Map' brand represented by 'Maptaeng' to nurture Maptaeng as the next-generation brand following Buldak. To this end, they recently applied for the 'Map (MEP)' trademark at the Korean Intellectual Property Office. A Samyang Foods official explained, "With the steady expansion of the summer seasonal noodle market and the diversification of consumer demand, we released a new bibim-myeon product to keep pace with these trends."
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