As they wage a marketing war for consumers’ attention and appetites, food companies are increasingly teaming up with fashion brands, leading to a boom in “food merchandise.”Brands see the collaborations as an entertaining experience for customers that increases opportunities to create a synergistic marketing effects to increase sales.Quirky, humorous and sometimes odd marketing has often been a successful public relations strategy for food companies. The fashion foray is the latest such tactic,

Heated debate ensued after the announcement by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of its safety results on recently popular heat-not-burn e-cigarettes on Thursday, which found the products to be equally, if not more, harmful compared to traditional cigarettes. “I have always thought a HNB cigarette is a better option for chain smokers like me. I have invested some 100,000 won ($93) for getting the device in the beginning, and now I’m thinking about reselling the device,” said 37-year-old Kim D

Following a string of incidents involving the misconduct of members of Korean Air’s owner family, employees from the country’s largest air carrier are unable to mask their cynicism.“This too shall pass -- somehow -- is what we all think,” a Korean Air flight attendant told The Korea Herald, referring to the latest allegations surrounding Lee Myung-hee, wife of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, and their two daughters Cho Hyun-ah and Cho Hyun-min. Hanjin is the holding company of Korean Air and

Novartis Korea, the local branch of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, said Wednesday it will recruit participants for a project to support patients who wish to return to work after having left due to illness.In partnership with the Work Together Foundation, a public welfare foundation that helps youths, women and middle-aged people find jobs, the company said that the “I-Eum” program would “reconnect patients with hope, work and the world.” Novartis Korea said the program aims to provide psychothe

Coffeehouse chain Starbucks Korea said Monday that it will provide a new in-car pickup service for its drive thru users from Tuesday, which helps drivers to skip the process of making a payment in the lane.  (Starbucks Korea)Called “My DT Pass,” the new service will enable drivers whose plate numbers are registered on the Starbucks app or the official website to order and will be automatically charged through a prepaid card or a credit card registered on the Starbucks app. Drivers won’t have to

Chiefs of Korean free economic zone authorities gathered Friday to urge the Seoul government to maintain tax benefits given to foreign investors in the districts, amid a move to revise preferential treatment for foreign businesses. During a meeting in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the heads of seven FEZs across the country -- Incheon, Busan-Jinhae, Gwangyang Bay Area, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Yellow Sea, East Coast and Chungbuk -- said that if the government makes revisions to minimize the tax bene

(CJ CheilJedang) (CJ CheilJedang)Customers look at ready-to-eat products and food ingredients at CJ CheilJedang’s newly opened Olive Market, a grocery store that focuses on home meal replacements, in Seoul. The store is the first such attempt in the industry. CJ CheilJedang said customers can enjoy one-stop shopping with a variety of its signature HMR products including Haetban (cooked white rice), Bibigo’s frozen dumplings and the Gourmet hamburger steak.

Food company Pulmuone rebranded itself with a new corporate identity for the first time in 13 years as it readies for change under the new leadership of CEO Lee Hyo-yul. Pulmuone‘s old (above) and new CI (Pulmuone)In January, Pulmuone founder Nam Seung-woo, who headed the company for the past 33 years, stepped down to make way for a new professional CEO to better manage the company. “The new CI, with a darker green logo and simplified font, indicates that Pulmuone will take a leap as a global co

Construction material supplier LG Hausys is expanding its production of phenolic foam, high-functioning semi-noncombustible insulation, with the completion of the construction of its second production line in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Employees at LG Hausys inspect phenolic foam insulation at its second production line in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. LG HausysThe firm said it has begun mass-producing PF insulation at its new production line following a trial run in early May

Food group SPC’s bakery chain Paris Baguette has been expanding quickly outside of Korea, running over 330 stores abroad since its first overseas store in Shanghai, China, opened in September 2004.  Paris Baguette store in Manhattan, New York (SPC)In the US, SPC set up a local corporation of Paris Baguette in 2002, and opened the first Paris Baguette in Los Angeles in 2005. There are 60 Paris Baguette stores in major cities in the US including California and New York. The company aims to operate

With inter-Korean ties appearing to move forward, South Korean food and beverage companies are cautiously pinning hopes on expanding their businesses to the other side of the peninsula, eyeing the some 25 million potential consumers in the North. Retail giant Lotte Corp. said Tuesday that it has formed a task force to work on the group’s business expansion to North Korea. Its food and beverage affiliates Lotte Food, Lotte Chilsung and Lotte Confectionery will lead the business under a CEO-level

South Korean retail giant Lotte said Tuesday that it would hold nondeal roadshows in New York and Boston, US until Wednesday, local time. They will be the conglomerate’s first overseas events since its chairman, Shin Dong-bin, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for bribery and embezzlement in February. Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae. YonhapAn NDR is an investment-focused event where executives hold discussions with current and potential investors. Nothing is offered for sale.Arranged by Cit

Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the main construction unit of Hyundai Motor Group, will begin sales of 1,482 units of Hillstate Geumjeong in Gyeonggi Province in June, the company said Tuesday. The planned Hillstate Geumjeong development. Hyundai E&CHillstate Geumjeong consists of four apartment buildings and one studio apartment building, each with up to 49 floors and six basement floors. The size of each apartment ranges from 72 square meters to 84 square meters, mainly small and midsized

With internet of things technologies spreading fast to our everyday lives, a smart home is no longer a new concept.IoT technologies include motion sensors that detect the movement of residents to turn a feature on or off, artificial intelligence speakers that can activate a washing machine, and curtains that can open and close depending on the mode.Since the early 2000s, construction companies have been bringing the technologies to apartments to increase convenience, such as installing high-spee

Following US President Donald Trump’s cancellation of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean companies have voiced concerns about the possible impact on the domestic situation, but they are taking a wait-and-see approach.An official from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry was quoted as saying that “since both sides aim to reach a mutual goal, we hope things go well, but it is still early to make a hasty conclusion.”The Federation of Korean Industries also expressed r

South Korean cosmetics developer and original development manufacturer Cosmax said Thursday that it is in talks with the government for methods to authorize the global standardization of infrared protection factor developed by the company, the first attempt in the world.Cosmax said it has developed sun care technology through a new clinical method, which can numerically measure IPF by comparing before and after its IPF-block product was applied to one’s skin. Such technology can be applied to va

CJ ENM, a merged corporation of CJ O Shopping and CJ E&M officially launching in July, said Thursday that it will open Asia’s largest virtual commerce content production center in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, targeting audiences in Southeast Asian countries. The center, called DADA Studio Vietnam, will create and distribute at least 1,000 pieces of v-commerce content from early next year. Focusing on making use of the low-cost production system and high efficiency of the talent pool in Vietnam, CJ ENM

As interest and purchase of heat-not-burn e-cigarettes increases among South Korean smokers -- over 163 million packs of HNB cigarettes in less than a year --top tobacco makers operating in the country are engaged in a heated marketing war.The fierce competition between the three major tobacco companies here -- Philip Morris International, KT&G and BAT Korea -- are entering phase 2 since their respective launches of the HNB products last year, with each striving to appeal to customers with diffe

GS Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that its first-quarter pretax profit recorded 311 billion won ($288 million), a 561 percent increase year-on-year.The company said its sales came to 3.1 trillion won, up by 15.8 percent on-year. With operating profit of 390 billion won, its pretax profit recorded 311 billion won. Both figures are the highest in the company’s history, it said.Some 1.9 trillion won came from obtaining new orders in the first quarter.  (Yonhap)For 16 consecutive quarters

Jelly candies are seeing increasing popularity among South Koreans, rising as an alternative for traditionally preferred hard candy and chewing gum, industry data showed Tuesday.According to a local confectionary company Orion, which sells steady-selling gummy sweets such as Mygumi, Jelly Worms and Jelly Bob, saw its sales of jelly candies jump by 65.4 percent over the past five years.  123RFIn March alone, which is considered peak season for confectionary firms since couples exchange gifts and