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[Herald Business] "People around the world eating burgers with gochujang, K-sauces will remain popular" [Interview with Kim Woo-taek, CEO of Woomtree]
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woomtree
Date
2024-11-14 10:27
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https://biz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20240708050352
40 years of research on the most Korean sauces and sauces
Expanding the scale of overseas business every year beyond domestic
Export achievements of 130 types to 45 countries including North America
Expanding to Southeast Asian market, reviewing Indonesian production plant
Only Grade 1 Raw Materials... Adhering to the 'Right Product' Philosophy
The K-food craze is sweeping the world. This is due to the popularity of K-culture, centered around K-pop and K-dramas, and the growing interest in fermented foods among people around the world.
At the center of the K-food craze is K-sauce. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the global sauce and seasoning market size is expected to increase from $41 billion (approximately 57 trillion won) last year to $59.5 billion in 2030.
Woomtree, which has been manufacturing soy sauces and sauces since the 1970s, is also accelerating its overseas business expansion. On the 4th, I met Woomtree CEO Kim Woo-taek at the Woomtree headquarters in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.
“We have now established a foundation for growth by opening export routes to over 40 countries,” said CEO Kim. “We are also considering establishing a local factory.”
Woomtree held a road show (traveling promotional event) at a Costco store in Sunnyvale, California, USA in February. It will also be available online at Walmart this month. Full-scale sales are expected to begin next year.
Woomtree has already conquered the domestic market with sauces such as wasabi and gochujang. It has grown in size since its establishment in 1978. It currently sells about 130 products. Its main products include soy sauces such as gochujang, spices represented by wasabi, other sauces, and premixes (powder mixed with various ingredients).
Since turning its eyes overseas, the scale of business has been growing every year. The number of exporting countries has increased from 34 in 2021 to 38 in 2022, 41 last year, and 45 as of the end of June this year. It has expanded into all continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. The number of export items has also increased every year from 75 in 2021, and currently handles over 100 products.
Overseas sales are also increasing every year, reaching 4.5 billion won in 2021, 4.8 billion won in 2022, and 6.9 billion won in 2023. Sales in the first half of this year also reached 3.3 billion won. The proportion of overseas business in total sales is 11.6% as of the first half of this year. This figure has also been increasing since 9.9% in 2021.
The largest overseas market is North America. It accounts for about 35% of total sales. In particular, exports of fermented foods such as gochujang are the mainstay. Recently, interest in fermented foods has increased and the K-culture craze has led to an increase in local consumption.
“Our products are mostly sold to locals,” said CEO Kim. “Locals eat tteokbokki and put gochujang on their hamburgers. In countries like Italy, they even put gochujang in their bread dough.”
We are also pursuing a business of selling burger sauce using Woomtree gochujang in the United States.
He said, "In the past, there was a sense of resistance among locals because fermenting food was equated with letting food rot," but "recently, as it has become scientifically known that K-food, especially fermented foods, are good for the body, interest among locals is increasing." He continued, "As the K-culture craze is blowing in the U.S., the tteokbokki market is also becoming active," and added, "BTS is contributing greatly to the national interest."
It is in the same context that Woomtree puts “Korea” first when exporting products. “A few decades ago, we used to imitate foreign product designs and package them in a way that concealed the fact that they were Korean products, but now, even for products we export, we use Korean letters larger than English letters,” he explained. “Local people also prefer Korean letters.”
The Southeast Asian market is also being aggressively expanded. Currently, Asian countries account for 13% of overseas sales. CEO Kim is also considering a plan to build a production plant in Indonesia and use it as a base for Southeast Asian production.
He said, “Indonesians like spicy food even more than Koreans,” and “We have about 20 different products, and we are preparing to commercialize them by getting Halal (Islamic law-permitted) gochujang certification this time.” He added, “We plan to sell our sauces in Indonesia, following the U.S.”
The driving force behind Woomtree’s aggressive overseas expansion is the belief that the K-sauce craze will continue in the long term. “Because soy sauce is not a convenience food, it will not become popular in a short period of time like other instant foods and will not cool down quickly,” said CEO Kim, adding, “The K-sauce trend will continue for a long time.”
However, Woomtree is not relying solely on the K-sauce craze. At the root of Woomtree’s globalization lies CEO Kim’s management philosophy of “right product.” Right product refers to CEO Kim’s belief that “we must supply the best raw materials and make products that are definitely better than any other company.” This is why CEO Kim visits overseas raw material cultivation sites to check the quality one by one. He said, “For raw materials, I personally go to the site and inspect the cultivation stage, and I meticulously take care of everything from harvesting to management.” He added, “We import ‘mustard’ raw materials from the U.S. and Canada, ‘wasabi’ raw materials from China, and ‘pepper’ raw materials from Vietnam. We import the raw materials perfectly and of the highest quality.”
Woomtree's gochujang also contains the right product philosophy. Woomtree ferments its gochujang for four times longer than other companies' products. This increases the degree of maturation and creates a deeper flavor.
CEO Kim emphasized, “The most popular soy sauce products in Korea contain 27 to 28% of maltose, which gives them a good color and appearance, but leaves them with a bitter taste.” He added, “We replace the maltose with sugar or oligosaccharide, which gives them a clean aftertaste.”
On this day, on the 4th floor of the soy sauce factory in the Pocheon Woomtree headquarters, a process of steaming 10 tons of flour at high temperatures with water and steam was in progress. Steaming is the process of making enzymes by floating mold. When I opened the door to the steam room, a musty smell and hot air poured out. After the 48-hour steaming, the contents were transported to the 3rd floor through the pipes and mixed with salt and water.
The fermented gochujang made in this way is fermented for one month in an underground storage tank at 20-25 degrees Celsius. Compared to other products, the long fermentation period deepens the flavor of the gochujang.
When you add red pepper powder and oligosaccharide to the fermented matured material and stir, Woomtree's red pepper paste is complete.
Regarding future business plans, CEO Kim said, “We have opened export routes to over 40 countries, big or small, so we have now laid the foundation for growth,” and “It won’t be as easy as doing business domestically, but if we make our products widely known around the world, the financial aspect will naturally follow.”
Pocheon = Reporters Kim Byeori and Park Byeong-guk kimstar@heraldcorp.com
Source: Herald Economy (https://biz.heraldcorp.com)
40 years of research on the most Korean sauces and sauces
Expanding the scale of overseas business every year beyond domestic
Export achievements of 130 types to 45 countries including North America
Expanding to Southeast Asian market, reviewing Indonesian production plant
Only Grade 1 Raw Materials... Adhering to the 'Right Product' Philosophy
 |
| Kim Woo-taek, CEO of Woomtree, poses in front of the Woomtree product display stand before an interview with the Herald Economy and Korea Herald at the Woomtree factory in Jangsu-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 4th. Pocheon=Reporter Im Se-jun |
At the center of the K-food craze is K-sauce. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the global sauce and seasoning market size is expected to increase from $41 billion (approximately 57 trillion won) last year to $59.5 billion in 2030.
In particular, as 'Buldak Bokkeum Myeon' becomes popular overseas, interest in spicy and savory Korean sauces is increasing.
Woomtree, which has been manufacturing soy sauces and sauces since the 1970s, is also accelerating its overseas business expansion. On the 4th, I met Woomtree CEO Kim Woo-taek at the Woomtree headquarters in Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.
“We have now established a foundation for growth by opening export routes to over 40 countries,” said CEO Kim. “We are also considering establishing a local factory.”
Woomtree held a road show (traveling promotional event) at a Costco store in Sunnyvale, California, USA in February. It will also be available online at Walmart this month. Full-scale sales are expected to begin next year.
CEO Kim said, “We have been exporting sauces and powders to countries like Russia and Brazil for a long time, but we started exporting gochujang to the U.S. three years ago and have been growing our business in earnest.” He added, “Our products are initially being shipped to Amazon Whole Foods Market in the U.S., and with the addition of Walmart and Costco, our volume will increase.”
Woomtree has already conquered the domestic market with sauces such as wasabi and gochujang. It has grown in size since its establishment in 1978. It currently sells about 130 products. Its main products include soy sauces such as gochujang, spices represented by wasabi, other sauces, and premixes (powder mixed with various ingredients).
Since turning its eyes overseas, the scale of business has been growing every year. The number of exporting countries has increased from 34 in 2021 to 38 in 2022, 41 last year, and 45 as of the end of June this year. It has expanded into all continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. The number of export items has also increased every year from 75 in 2021, and currently handles over 100 products.
Overseas sales are also increasing every year, reaching 4.5 billion won in 2021, 4.8 billion won in 2022, and 6.9 billion won in 2023. Sales in the first half of this year also reached 3.3 billion won. The proportion of overseas business in total sales is 11.6% as of the first half of this year. This figure has also been increasing since 9.9% in 2021.
The largest overseas market is North America. It accounts for about 35% of total sales. In particular, exports of fermented foods such as gochujang are the mainstay. Recently, interest in fermented foods has increased and the K-culture craze has led to an increase in local consumption.
“Our products are mostly sold to locals,” said CEO Kim. “Locals eat tteokbokki and put gochujang on their hamburgers. In countries like Italy, they even put gochujang in their bread dough.”
We are also pursuing a business of selling burger sauce using Woomtree gochujang in the United States.
He said, "In the past, there was a sense of resistance among locals because fermenting food was equated with letting food rot," but "recently, as it has become scientifically known that K-food, especially fermented foods, are good for the body, interest among locals is increasing." He continued, "As the K-culture craze is blowing in the U.S., the tteokbokki market is also becoming active," and added, "BTS is contributing greatly to the national interest."
 |
| Mr. Kim, wearing overalls, explains the process of making soy sauce at the factory. Pocheon=Reporter Im Se-jun |
The Southeast Asian market is also being aggressively expanded. Currently, Asian countries account for 13% of overseas sales. CEO Kim is also considering a plan to build a production plant in Indonesia and use it as a base for Southeast Asian production.
He said, “Indonesians like spicy food even more than Koreans,” and “We have about 20 different products, and we are preparing to commercialize them by getting Halal (Islamic law-permitted) gochujang certification this time.” He added, “We plan to sell our sauces in Indonesia, following the U.S.”
The driving force behind Woomtree’s aggressive overseas expansion is the belief that the K-sauce craze will continue in the long term. “Because soy sauce is not a convenience food, it will not become popular in a short period of time like other instant foods and will not cool down quickly,” said CEO Kim, adding, “The K-sauce trend will continue for a long time.”
However, Woomtree is not relying solely on the K-sauce craze. At the root of Woomtree’s globalization lies CEO Kim’s management philosophy of “right product.” Right product refers to CEO Kim’s belief that “we must supply the best raw materials and make products that are definitely better than any other company.” This is why CEO Kim visits overseas raw material cultivation sites to check the quality one by one. He said, “For raw materials, I personally go to the site and inspect the cultivation stage, and I meticulously take care of everything from harvesting to management.” He added, “We import ‘mustard’ raw materials from the U.S. and Canada, ‘wasabi’ raw materials from China, and ‘pepper’ raw materials from Vietnam. We import the raw materials perfectly and of the highest quality.”
Woomtree's gochujang also contains the right product philosophy. Woomtree ferments its gochujang for four times longer than other companies' products. This increases the degree of maturation and creates a deeper flavor.
CEO Kim emphasized, “The most popular soy sauce products in Korea contain 27 to 28% of maltose, which gives them a good color and appearance, but leaves them with a bitter taste.” He added, “We replace the maltose with sugar or oligosaccharide, which gives them a clean aftertaste.”
On this day, on the 4th floor of the soy sauce factory in the Pocheon Woomtree headquarters, a process of steaming 10 tons of flour at high temperatures with water and steam was in progress. Steaming is the process of making enzymes by floating mold. When I opened the door to the steam room, a musty smell and hot air poured out. After the 48-hour steaming, the contents were transported to the 3rd floor through the pipes and mixed with salt and water.
The fermented gochujang made in this way is fermented for one month in an underground storage tank at 20-25 degrees Celsius. Compared to other products, the long fermentation period deepens the flavor of the gochujang.
When you add red pepper powder and oligosaccharide to the fermented matured material and stir, Woomtree's red pepper paste is complete.
Regarding future business plans, CEO Kim said, “We have opened export routes to over 40 countries, big or small, so we have now laid the foundation for growth,” and “It won’t be as easy as doing business domestically, but if we make our products widely known around the world, the financial aspect will naturally follow.”
Pocheon = Reporters Kim Byeori and Park Byeong-guk kimstar@heraldcorp.com
Source: Herald Economy (https://biz.heraldcorp.com)