South Korean food companies reported robust sales last year, but high raw material prices weighed down their profit growth. In 2022, Korean food companies Lotte Confectionery, SPC Samlip, Ottogi and Nongshim newly joined the short list of Korean food companies who posted annual sales of 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) or more -- a feat achieved by only four Korean food companies so far. The top f...

The Korean retail industry is busy preparing measures to erase actor Yoo Ah-in from their brands' promotions, after the actor tested positive for marijuana use and became embroiled in an open drug test investigation for the illegal use of propofol. Musinsa, the largest online fashion platform in Korea by sales, told The Korea Herald that the company is currently reviewing the termination of its ...

The value of overseas direct shopping exceeded $4.7 billion last year, significantly up from $2.7 billion in 2018, according to the latest data from the Korea Customs Service released Wednesday. The number of users also tripled over the past five years from 5.19 million to 15.57 million last year. It is the first time the figure has exceeded 15 million, coming to more than 1 in 4 people here. T...

Starbucks Korea on Wednesday opened a new “The Bukhansan” store near an entrance to Bukhansan National Park in Seoul. The two-story building, with almost 1,000 square meters of floor space, aims to give visitors a special experience to interact with nature with a cup of coffee and enjoy the mountain view in the city center. Special features include a photo zone on the rooftop terrace and a walkin...

British American Tobacco’s South Korean branch announced Tuesday that the company will launch a new tobacco heating product, Glo Hyper X2, this month, in a bid to increase its share in the South Korean market. According to BAT Rothmans, the Korean arm of BAT, Glo Hyper X2 will be available on Feb. 27 at convenience stores and online e-commerce platforms. The new device is priced at 40,000 won ($...

South Korea’s imports of kimchi touched an all-time high in 2022 amid galloping consumer inflation in the country, government data showed. Inbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish came to $169.4 million last year, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The on-year growth rate was the highest since the 53.8 percent surge recorded...

Korean food giant Pulmuone is in talks with US food-tech company Yokai Express to sign a deal before July for the launch of vending machines that can cook instant meals, the firm said Tuesday. "Pulmuone is in due process of securing exclusive rights to distributing and installing Yokai Expresss' vending machines that will sell Pulmuone's products in Korea," a Pulmuone official told The Korea Her...

International shoppers are returning to South Korea amid eased virus restrictions, seeing sales rebound for local department stores. Hanwha Galleria, the retail arm of the Hanwha Group, said on Tuesday that sales in the luxury goods section at the Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong-dong, a posh shopping district in southern Seoul, had increased by 500 percent on-year between August and Janua...

Robots replace certain human jobs, but create more for sophisticated management

KT&G, South Korea's dominant tobacco company, is making aggressive inroads into overseas markets in a bid to increase its sales and market share abroad, according to the company on Sunday. Aiming to foray into foreign markets, the company recently signed its first long-term sales and purchase agreement with global tobacco maker Philip Morris International. Under the 15-year agreement that lasts...

Exports of soju, South Korea’s traditional distilled liquor, increased 13.2 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed, rebounding for the first time in three years. Outbound shipments of soju reached $93.3 million in 2022, rising sharply from $82.4 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. In terms of volume, exports advanced 12.7 percen...

The recent data follows a series of controversies surrounding McDonald's hygiene at franchise stores. On Jan. 25, an online post showing a picture of yarn in a McDonald's McMorning pancake combo stirred controversy. "I bought two McMorning sets with my son, gave him a hotcake, ate a muffin, and after almost finishing everything, took something out from my mouth to find that I was chewing on a t...

Korea’s leading bakery franchise Paris Baguette has launched its 100th franchise store in the US, stepping up its overseas business, its operator SPC Group said Monday. Reaching the milestone with the opening of "Paris Baguette Red Bank" in New Jersey, the company aims to introduce 1,000 stores across the US market by 2030. According to the food company, Paris Baguette plans to sign 160 additio...

Lotte Duty Free said Wednesday it clinched a 10-year contract to become the new operator of Melbourne Airport duty-free shops, in a bid to make further inroads into the Oceania market. According to the South Korean duty-free goods retailer, starting June 1, Lotte will offer a duty-free experience in the Australian terminal’s existing 3,600 square meter duty-free space, as well as the airport’s o...