Josun Hotels & Resorts bets big on kimchi as 2025 sales surpass W54b

The hotel's premium packaged kimchi brand targets sales of W100b by 2030

Diverse types of kimchi sold by Josun Hotels & Resorts (Josun Hotels & Resorts)

Josun Hotels & Resorts is doubling down on its kimchi business, aiming to grow annual sales of its premium packaged kimchi brand to 100 billion won ($75 million) by 2030 as demand rises at home and abroad.

The hotel group said its kimchi division saw 54 billion won in annual sales in 2025, after maintaining double-digit growth for five consecutive years. From 2021 to 2025, the brand recorded an average annual growth rate of 23.8 percent, buoyed in part by a decline in home kimchi making since the pandemic.

Originally launched in 2004 at Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch following requests from hotel guests, Josun Hotel kimchi has evolved into a leading name in premium packaged kimchi. The company attributes its positioning to hotel chef expertise and the use of high-quality ingredients.

To support further growth, the company relocated and expanded its production facility in January to Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The new “Premium Kimchi Center,” spanning about 1,650 square meters, is 2.5 times larger than the previous site and includes manufacturing, storage and research facilities certified under Korea’s HACCP food safety standards. Core processes such as seasoning and stuffing remain hand-finished to preserve what the company describes as its signature taste.

The expansion is expected to double production capacity by 2030, with daily output rising to as much as 6,000 kilograms.

The brand is also accelerating overseas expansion. On Thursday, it began its first shipment to the US — about 1.5 metric tons of napa cabbage kimchi and young radish kimchi — under an export agreement facilitated by Emart America. The products will be distributed through Wooltari Mall, a US-based Korean premium food platform, following customs clearance in March.

In June, the company plans a seven-day pop-up at Hankyu Department Store’s branch in Osaka, introducing three varieties including napa cabbage kimchi and kkakdugi (radish kimchi). It has also exported directly to Singapore eight times since 2024, supplying the premium supermarket Little Farms.

Chief Executive Choi Hoon-hak said the company would “expand customer touchpoints and grow into a competitive global premium kimchi brand” on the back of its upgraded production infrastructure.