[THE INVESTOR] Ottogi, South Korean food giant, has come to the fore in the local instant noodle business with its doubled market share over the past few years, industry sources said on Oct. 19.

Since its establishment in 1969, Ottogi had been known for such products as curry, soups, ketchup and mayonnaise, but the company has emerged as a strong contender to market leader Nongshim after entering the instant noodle market in 1987.

As of the end of August this year, Ottogi’s market share came to 23 percent, with Nongshim leading with 53.5 percent. Samyang came in third with 10.2 percent.

Ottogi’s market share hovered just over 10 percent five years ago, but the company outstripped No. 2 Samyang a year later by putting several hit products on the market.

In October last year, Ottogi introduced its high-end instant spicy noodle soup with seafood product Jin jjambong that has become a smash hit, raising its market share to 20.5 percent as of end-2015.

The market share surpassed 23 percent in the first half of this year thanks to the new product -- more than 100 million packages sold in the five months after its launch.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)