A couple of decades ago, Western cookies and snacks, for Koreans, were
considered a very special item, only given on special occasions and only
enjoyed by a handful of people. The snacks were rare and precious.
Today, however, Korean companies are producing a wide array of
delectable snacks which often leave Westerners speechless as they fall
in love with them. Regardless of nationality or ethnicity, a huge number
of people from across the world are showing a keen interest in snacks,
drinks and candies made in Korea.
In Russia, where the Winter
Olympics recently wrapped up, Korean-made LetsBe, a brand of canned
coffee, is taking the country by storm. The 190 milliliter cans are
offered in nine different flavors, including latte, espresso, Americano
and chocolate-latte.
Canned coffee stored in heated vending
units are perfect for freezing Russian temperatures. This strategy by
Lotte Chilsung, the coffee's maker, has LetsBe receiving rave reviews
from local consumers. The company raked in overall revenues of over USD
7.1 million last year, solely from its LetsBe brand.
LetsBe, a brand of canned coffee, is on sale in Russia. (photo courtesy of Lotte Chilsung)
Another
canned drink is also popular in Russia these days, even more popular
than LetsBe. It is Lotte Chilsung's No. 1 brand, Milkis. Milkis earned
its company USD 14 million last year in the Russian market. Over the
past 13 years, starting in 2000 when exports to Russia first began,
Milkis has sold as many as 350 million cans and has earned some USD 76.7
million.
Milkis is offered in eleven different fruit flavors in the Russian market. (photo courtesy of Lotte Chilsung)
In
regard to the Russian consumer's love for Milkis, Lotte Chilsung
explained that Russians might perceive the mix of milk and carbonation
as being a fresh combination that they cannot find in their local
market. Moreover, the company's new marketing strategy, adopted a year
after exports began, seems to have played a role, too. The addition of
fruit flavors now gives the consumer various options: strawberry, melon,
apple and pineapple. It offers a new taste experience to Russian
consumers who now have the rare chance to experience a range of tropical
fruit flavors in their carbonated milk. Local buyers are showing an
enthusiastic response to the fruit-flavored carbonated drinks. In some
cafes and bars, twentysomethings are generating a new drinking culture
by mixing Milkis and vodka.
Drinks in Russia are not the only Korean snack food making waves overseas. Instant noodle brand
Shin Ramyun,
whose spicy taste can make a grownup cry, according to its own
advertisements, can now be found in some 80 countries across the world.
It has been gaining attention from countries as close as Japan and China
and from as far afield as Switzerland. Shin Ramyun can be found at the
top of the
Jungfrau
in the Swiss Alps, as well as in some South American and Islamic
countries. The brand of spicy instant noodles has made an average yearly
revenue, both at home and abroad, of some USD 650 million for Nongshim,
its maker.
Shin Ramyun has spread its spicy taste across the world. (photo courtesy of Nongshim)
Shin Ramyun is on sale in a grocery store in Shanghai. (photo courtesy of Nongshim)
Shin Ramyun is on sale at 3,466 meters at the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. (photo courtesy of Nongshim)
Shin
Ramyun fills a "comfort spot" in the hearts of many, and it is an
important item that many people bring with them when they pack their
bags for overseas. They tend to believe that the spicy taste gives them
energy and enlivens their spirit, lifting their exhausted body and mind.
In recent years, such ideas and feelings are winning support from
non-Koreans, too. At the mountain top of Jungfrau, deep in the Swiss
Alps, cups of instant Shin Ramyun are being sold, sought after by many
mountain climbers, ranging from backpackers in their 20s to families and
couples.
A continent away, people in Kenya have Shin Ramyun
delivered to their home, using a home shopping channel. Seven airlines,
including American Airlines and Air France, offer the noodles in their
in-flight menu. The spicy brand of instant noodles reaches out to
Islamic countries, as well. Many people across the region adhere to
Halal rules, and so Nongshim has made its noodles available in the
market by obtaining eight
Halal food certifications. Shin Ramyun has become the first Korean snack product exported to Pakistan, Jordan and Qatar.
Amongst
the many snacks and candies introduced in overseas markets, perhaps the
most famous is Orion's Choco Pie. Many people associate the chocolate
marshmallow pastry with one specific Korean word,
jeong, which
represents warmth and generosity. Orion has been using that word in its
long-continued, never-changed advertising campaign. In overseas markets,
the company tries to deliver the same message and the same concept with
slightly different catch lines, fine tuned for each market. In China,
jeong was transformed into
haoriyeowu,
meaning "good friendship." The chocolate-based snack is very popular
amongst Chinese consumers, who often exchange it on special occasions
and when they want to express gratitude.
The Choco Pie is sold in around 60
countries, including Korea (top, left), China (top, middle), Vietnam
(top, right), Russia (bottom, left) and the U.S. (bottom, right). (photo
courtesy of Orion)
A Choco Pie is a small, moist
chocolate cake, with a layer of marshmallow in the middle. It's about 7
centimeters around, 2.3 centimeters thick and weighs 35 grams. More than
2 billion of these small cakes are sold every year. That's enough Choco
Pies to go around the circumference of the earth three times.
The
soft chocolate cake contains a high level of moisture. The more
moisture a food contains, the more likely it is for microorganisms to
become active and cause the snack to go bad. Orion conducted many years
of research and has now made it possible to maintain the freshness and
the exact same taste of a Choco Pie, wherever it is consumed in the
world.
Melona is one of the most popular popsicles in Brazil. (photo courtesy of Binggrae)
Moving
on from chocolate snacks, in Brazil, a brand of popsicle has been
gaining a lot of attention. Melona is a honeydew melon-flavored ice pop.
Introduced in Brazil in 2002, Melona has now become one of the favorite
treats amongst local youngsters. It is no longer surprising to run into
a Melona retailer on the streets of Rio or Sao Paulo, and people lining
up in front of the stores has become a familiar sight.
Korean-made
cookies, snacks, ice creams and drinks are also available in closed
North Korea. Choco Pies are already being offered to laborers working in
the Kaeseong Industrial Complex (Gaesong Industrial Complex). There is a
rumor that the North Korean workers do not eat them. Most of them keep
their snacks to sell in the market, to supplement the family income.
Markets in North Korea are said to have a wide array of Korean items
available for sale, such as noodles, juices and Coca-Cola tagged with
Korean labeling. Many North Korean defectors say that a cup of instant
noodles is one of their favorite snacks.
Cookies, ice creams and
chocolates were considered for a long time to be the preserve of
Westerners. Now, however, they are being produced at home, and they are
tasty enough to attract Western consumers, whatever their nationality or
ethnicity. If the food is great, they will come. This is the power of
food.
By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr
[Source: korea.net]