Algot’s frozen kimbap
Sajo Daelim, a major Korean seafood processing and marine products company, has entered the frozen kimbap market, becoming a new giant in the Korean food industry and throwing down the gauntlet to the frozen kimbap export market that was pioneered by small domestic food companies.
Sajo Daelim announced the launch of its frozen kimbap brand on Friday, adding that it has already shipped 36 tonnes, or 155,000 rolls, of frozen kimbap products to the U.S. since April.
The company’s main products are canned tuna and kamaboko, and it plans to export around 72,000 units per month.
Sajo said it produces frozen kimbap using tuna meat and a variety of vegetables, with three varieties available, including a vegan version with fried tofu and burdock root.
The news comes just over a month after South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang launched its frozen kimbap products in Australia after finding success in Japan about a year ago.
Sajo Frozen Kimbap (Provided by Sajo Daelim)
Kimbap (or gimbap) is a Korean rice roll wrapped in nori seaweed, unlike Japanese sushi rolls. Korean sushi rolls contain rice (bap), marinated meat (mostly beef), omelette-style eggs, and vegetables such as carrots and spinach, and are wrapped in nori seaweed, called kim or gim in Korean.
Kimbap is usually served at room temperature and is meant to be eaten the same day it is prepared. For most Koreans, the idea of frozen kimbap is quite new.
But frozen kimbap has recently become a global sensation after becoming a big hit in the US after going viral on social media last year.
And the overseas success story of frozen kimbap was initially led by small Korean food companies, not big food conglomerates.
Screenshot captured from the Bok Mansa Frozen Kimbap catalogue
Last year, the news of people lining up in front of Trader Joe’s frozen food sections across the US for frozen Korean seaweed rice rolls was fuelled by Algot’s frozen kimbap.
Argot is a small Korean food company whose only main product is frozen kimbap.
Following its success in the US, South Korean food companies have begun supplying frozen kimbap to major supermarket chains across the country.
However, Argot was not Korea’s first exporter of frozen seaweed rice rolls.
Pokmansa was the company that began shipping frozen kimbap products overseas in 2020, starting with Hong Kong.
Bokmangsa Frozen Kimbap Products (screenshot captured from Bokmangsa Frozen Kimbap Catalogue)
The Korean food company currently exports frozen kimbap products to 19 countries, including the US, UK, Qatar and Indonesia.
The entry of a major domestic competitor into the industry is likely to intensify competition in the frozen kimbap export market, which is at the heart of the latest Korean food craze that is becoming popular around the world.
CJ CheilJedang, which owns the Bibigo brand, also plans to export frozen kimbap products to the U.S. in the future.
Email Hyung-Joo Oh at ohj@hankyung.com
This article was edited by Sookyung Seo.
