Ourhome to launch new premium Kimchi brand in early 2024

South Korean food company Ourhome Co. is set to launch a new premium Kimchi brand in early 2024 to target both the domestic and overseas kimchi markets. Kimchi is a traditional spicy Korean dish consisting of salted and fermented vegetables.

Ourhome said on Thursday that it plans to launch a new premium kimchi brand while integrating its regular packaged kimchi brands to significantly expand its market share in the domestic kimchi market. The company currently uses its brand name for premium kimchi products, while using ‘Asak Kimchi’ and ‘Inam Kimchi’ for regular products.

“We plan to release new products using our own kimchi-specific sauce, with a focus on premium and regular lines that have secured popularity,” Oh Ji-young, head of the Ourhome Food Research Institute, said.

The current business-to-consumer (B2C) packaged kimchi market in Korea is dominated by Daesang Corp.’s Jongga and CJ CheilJedang Corp.’s Bibigo. The two brands together hold approximately 80 percent of the market share, with Ourhome and others catching up.

According to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.(aT), kimchi sales via retail outlets, including department stores, hit 232.9 billion won ($177.56 million) by September 2023. It was only 144.4 billion won in 2015, but jumped to 317.5 billion won in 2022, showing continuous growth each year.

“The market targeting households that make and consume kimchi is estimated to be 1.2 trillion won, and with the commercialization rate of packaged kimchi at only 30 percent, an additional market of at least 400 to 500 billion won is expected to open up,” Oh said.

Ourhome operates specialized kimchi factories in Eumseong and Jecheon in North Chungcheong, producing over 130 types of kimchi with an annual production capacity of 12,000 tons.

Ourhome’s kimchi business has been growing steadily, with total sales for the kimchi business rising by 73 percent in 2022 compared to 2018 and the average annual growth rate over the past five years at the 15 percent mark. Kimchi sales during the Gimjang season in 2023 increased by 33.8 percent from the same period in 2022. ‘Galchi Kimchi’ particularly saw cumulative sales until October 2023 rise by 125 percent compared to total sales from the previous year. Gimjang is the annual traditional process of preparation and preservation of kimchi that takes place between October and November.