CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading maker of processed foods, said Thursday sales of its flagship precooked dumplings soared this year from a year earlier on the back of the growing one-person household and eat-alone trends that have spurred demand for instant foods.
The company has sold more than 50 billion won ($44.3 million) worth of its Bibigo Dumplings in the first four months of this year ending April 26, up 31.5 percent from the previous year, it said in a release.
(Yonhap)
The on-year figure is a big jump from its 2014 sales of 6 billion won recorded during the cited months, the company said.
Launched in 2013, the Bibigo Dumplings have been a hit in the local frozen meal market as the company distinguished the lineup by using fillings like chopped vegetables and meats like home-made dumplings, compared to ground stuffing used by rivals.
Also, the increase in single households and the spread of the lone-dining trend in the country has played a part in boosting the sales of such easy-to-cook meals, along with the rapid growth of the home meal replacement (HMR) market which local food makers have been scrambling to tighten their grips on.
The food manufacturing unit of CJ Group has far outpaced its rivals with the current market share standing at 40.3 percent as of end-February.
The company said it is targeting a 30 percent on-year gain in annual sales to 150 billion won for 2017.
Bibigo Dumplings come in three types, which are meat, kimchi and prawn-based. A pack of a little over a dozen dumplings is sold for about 4,000 won at supermarkets. They are also sold in most key overseas markets, including the United States, China, Southeast Asia and Europe. (Yonhap)