Pulmuone cements US tofu lead with record sales

Pulmuone logged a record-setting 224.2 billion won ($155 million) in tofu revenue in the United States last year, on the back of increasing demand for plant-based protein and strategic expansion of sales channels, the Korean food company said Thursday.

According to Pulmuone, last year's tofu sales at its Pulmuone Foods USA subsidiary went up by 12 percent from 2024, continuing its growth trajectory. The company's tofu sales in the US doubled from 2021.

Pulmuone said that its high-protein tofu led the growth, with sales hitting 41.5 billion won last year, nearly triple the 15.6 billion won of 2021.

Noting that it had secured new large accounts in the third quarter last year amid rising demand for tofu, Pulmuone said it expects to continue to post upbeat earnings this year.

The company added that its tofu products, which account for about half of Pulmuone Foods USA's total revenue, are diversifying sales channels, including through food services, multinational restaurants, business-to-business food chains and school meals.

Pulmuone said it expects to complete the production line expansion at its tofu plant in Ayer, Massachusetts, by the end of March, with plans in place to ramp up tofu production at its plant in Fullerton, California, to keep up with increasing demand nationwide.

Since acquiring Nasoya, formerly the No. 1 tofu brand in the US, at a price of about $50 million in 2016, Pulmuone has maintained its leadership position in the US tofu market for about a decade.

"The demand for tofu in the US is steadily increasing as the flexitarian population grows and the trend of consuming high-protein, plant-based foods instead of meat spreads," said Cho Gil-soo, CEO of Pulmuone Foods USA.

"By expanding our supply and actively targeting new channels alongside existing retail growth, we plan to further solidify our leadership in the US tofu market."