Nongshim earns over 50% of its profit from overseas on K-food hype

US consumers enjoy Shin Ramyun cup noodles. (Nongshim)

The sales and operating profit of South Korea's top ramyeon maker Nongshim hit all-time highs last year thanks to the popularity of ramyeon products in foreign markets, the company said Friday.

The company’s operating profit in 2023 jumped by 89.1 percent from a year earlier to reach 212 billion won ($159 million), while its annual sales came to 3.4 trillion won, up 9 percent on-year.

"As global inflation stubbornly remains high, ramyeon products have appealed to foreign consumers as a low-cost, tasty meal," a company official said.

In 2023, Nongshim’s operating profit from foreign markets improved by 125 percent on-year, the company said. The company’s operating profit from foreign markets also accounted for over 50 percent of its total operating profit, it added.

Nongshim’s overseas sales accounted for 37 percent of the combined sales that the company posted during the same period.

Nongshim said its sales in the US and China have particularly increased. In the US, the company’s sales and operating profit increased by 10.4 percent and 131.4 percent, respectively. “The company’s sales in the US started to improve since it began operating its second plant in May 2022,” the official from Nongshim explained.

Nongshim currently plans to add production lines to the company’s second plant in California, to expand its sales further in nearby regions, including California, Texas and Mexico. The company will also launch new products in foreign markets to boost its sales this year, it added.

Nongshim noted that its recent new product launches, including its extra spicy noodle soup Shin Ramyun The Red, have received positive feedback from local customers, and that sales from newly launched products accounted for some 50 percent of the increase in the company's annual sales last year.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)