Nongshim to expand global reach with new export-only factory

A view of the Nongshim Busan Noksan Plant, completed in 2007. A new export-only facility will be built next to it by 2026 to meet global demand. [Courtesy of Nongshim]

South Korea’s food company Nongshim is poised to expand its global operations by establishing a new “K-Food hub” in Busan’s Noksan National Industrial Complex. Responding to the growing global demand for Korean ramyun, the company plans to build an export-only factory, signaling a bold investment in its international business.

Nongshim announced on Sunday that it will break ground on the new factory in the first half of 2025, with plans to complete construction by the first half of 2026 and begin full-scale operations in the latter half of that year. The facility, which will cover an area of 51,000 square meters, will be built on unused land adjacent to its existing Noksan factory. The investment for this project is estimated at 191.8 billion won ($143.2 million), with Nongshim planning to raise around 140 billion won via the issuance of exchangeable bonds (EB).

Once completed, the new Noksan factory will feature three state-of-the-art production lines capable of producing 500 million packs of ramyun annually, matching the export volume currently produced at the existing Busan factory. The surge in global demand for K-ramyun has prompted Nongshim to add new production lines at its Busan plant over the past two years, but the company decided that a dedicated export facility was necessary to meet growing demand. The new factory will prioritize the production of popular export items such as Shin Ramyun, Neoguri, and Chapagetti.

With the addition of the new Noksan facility, Nongshim’s total export production capacity will total around 2.7 billion packs per year, including output from its U.S. and China subsidiaries, which produce 1 billion and 700 million packs annually respectively. When combined with domestic production, Nongshim’s total capacity will exceed 6 billion packs annually, with the company also planning to expand the new Noksan factory’s production lines to a maximum of eight which would potentially increase its output to over 3.5 billion packs per year.

Nongshim’s ramyun exports have been steadily increasing as a percentage of its total sales. In 2021, export sales were 142 billion won, accounting for 7.3 percent of its domestic ramyun sales of 1.94 trillion won. By last year, export sales had grown to 198.2 billion won, representing 8 percent of its domestic sales of 2.48 trillion won. Exports topped 10 percent of domestic sales in the first half of 2024 to total 128.7 billion won.

While Nongshim operates production plants in the United States and China, the decision to build an export-only factory in Korea reflects the increasing diversification of its export markets, which now include Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Nongshim’s revenue from Europe grew by 24.4 percent on-year to $60.1 million in 2023, and what was once a niche market among Korean expatriates is now expanding rapidly among local consumers in Europe and Southeast Asia thanks to the global K-Food trend.

Leveraging the new Noksan export facility, Nongshim plans to establish a local European subsidiary in early 2025 as well as expanding into South America, Africa, and Oceania. The company currently operates six factories nationwide, with two located in Busan. The proximity of the new export-only factory to the existing Busan facility, which is connected to Busan New Port, is expected to enhance export efficiency. Nongshim has also announced plans to build a 165,200 square meter logistics center in the Ulsan Samnam Logistics Complex by 2027.