Homeplus said Sunday that it will hold a Korean food fair in London during the Summer Olympics in partnership with its parent company, U.K. retail giant Tesco.
Titled “Taste of Korea,” the upcoming event will be held at the Tesco Extra New Malden store in London from June 25-Aug. 31, the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain said.
Some 150 Korean food items are to be displayed during the period, with the size doubled from the same event last year, the company said.
Participating companies will range from conglomerates such as CJ, Lotte and Woongjin Food, to smaller firms including Haeorum Corp., Kukje Confectionery and Hanil Food Corp.
Shoppers look at Korean food products during the Taste of Korea at Tesco Extra New Malden store in New Malden, the U.K. (Homeplus)
The food fair comes as part of a memorandum of understanding signed by Homeplus, Tesco and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Corporation, which aims to promote Korean food in the British market and expand sales channels, the company said.
Even though current sales of Korean food in the U.K. market are largely dependent on Korean residents there, Homeplus expected the Taste of Korea event to appeal to customers with non-Korean cultural backgrounds as well.
Products that gain positive reviews during the food fair will also have an opportunity to be sold through other Tesco outlets there or online shopping malls, the company said.
The London event is also expected to help shared growth between large and smaller firms on a global level, officials said.
“We will actively support Korea’s small and medium-sized food companies to find their way into the global food market through cooperation with KOTRA and Tesco,” Homeplus president Lee Seung-han said in a statement.
On the opening day, Philip Clarke, the president of Tesco Group, high-ranking U.K. government officials, catering specialists of the London 2012 Olympics, Korean War veterans and Korean immigrant families will show up to celebrate.
By Chung Joo-won (
joowonc@heraldcorp.com)