CJ CheilJedang’s U.S. frozen fried rice sales hit $74 mn

CJ CheilJedang’s U.S. frozen fried rice [Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang]

CJ CheilJedang Corp., the flagship food unit of South Korea’s CJ Group, announced on Monday that its cumulative sales of frozen fried rice products produced and sold in the United States topped 100 billion won ($73.98 million) in 2023 to date. The company also expected to achieve sales exceeding 130 billion won by the end of the year.

“With the acquisition of Schwan’s Company in 2019, we secured a cold chain distribution system across the United States, and our sales have tripled in the four years since the acquisition,” a CJ CheilJedang official explained.

The Korean food giant’s flagship frozen fried rice products include K-BBQ Chicken Fried Rice, Vegetable with Kimchi Fried Rice, and Shrimp Fried Rice, which are produced at Schwan’s Company’s plant in Vermont and are sold through major retail channels including Walmart, Kroger, and Target.

The company also saw an increase in the export of its domestically produced frozen fried rice products.

Its frozen fried rice exports has grown at an average annual rate of 22 percent from 2021 to 2023, and the number of export destinations has expanded from 7 countries in 2017 to the current 17.

CJ CheilJedang plans to further expand the presence of its frozen fried rice products in major local distribution channels, and will start selling ‘Kimchi Cheese Rice Balls’ at Costcos in Australia this month.