As K-food’s global popularity grows, Korean food companies are growing YouTube into a new overseas m..

2 Million Views of Samyang Man
Nongshim also establishes a U.S. content corporation
Competing to secure global fandom beyond product advertisements

사진 확대 Samyang Round Square’s own YouTube channel, “Samyang Man”. [Courtesy of Samyang Round Square]

As K-food’s global popularity grows, Korean food companies are growing YouTube into a new overseas marketing battlefield. It is a move to secure global fandom with its own contents and characters that can be enjoyed by local consumers, away from advertising directly promoting products. It is interpreted as a strategy to expand the brand experience to contents beyond exporting products such as ramen and convenience food.

According to Samyang Round Square on the 9th, its own YouTube channel “Samyangman” recorded 2.18 million cumulative views as of the 8th, about three months after its opening. In particular, about 99% of the total viewing occurred overseas. By country, the share of U.S. viewers was the highest at about 45%, followed by Canada, the U.K., and Australia.

Samyang Man, which was opened in August, will be operated around the original series “Fire or Fire” presented by Samyang Round Square’s global content brand “BURNT.” Instead of a famous celebrity or influencer, it is a method of experiencing local culture with real employees as the main characters.

Samyang Round Square’s content business is not limited to YouTube channels. It is also expanding its intellectual property (IP) business using the buldak brand character “PEPO.” The Pepo YouTube channel, which opened in July 2024, exceeded 1.06 million subscribers as of June this year. With cumulative sales of buldak exceeding 10 billion, Samyang Foods is expanding its brand area with digital contents and goods by putting Pepo at the forefront.

사진 확대 Local chefs and gourmet officials are tasting a special menu of Perilla LA collaboration Shin Ramen at the tasting lounge of the Nongshim booth of the LA Times’ “101 Best Restaurant, LA.” [Giving a sense of humor]

Nongshim is also focusing on the global content business. In August, it was reported that it established a joint venture called “NM STUDIOS” for content production in the United States. Nongshim Holdings America, a U.S. subsidiary of Nongshim, invested 50% of its stake, and the investment is about KRW 3.08 billion. Nongshim plans to strengthen its brand marketing capabilities in the U.S. market in cooperation with local content producers.

Nongshim also unveiled its brand’s first character, “SHIN,” in March this year to mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of Shin Ramen. It is a character that embodies Shin Ramen bags and curly noodles, and plays a role in communicating familiarly with global consumers beyond language and cultural barriers. However, NM STUDIOS is still in the business preparation stage, and detailed content production plans have not been finalized.

사진 확대 Kim Byung-kyu, CEO of CJ Food Japan (left), is taking a commemorative photo by handing Eiko Kano a letter of appointment as the head of the Bibigo dumpling business. [CJ Food Japan]

CJ CheilJedang is conducting global digital marketing and brand IP expansion at the same time. In August, it expanded new product lines such as snacks, ice cream, and beverages using existing brands such as Bibigo, Dasada, and Hatban. Approximately 7 million products utilizing brand IP, which have been released since March this year, were sold cumulatively as of August, with sales reaching about 15 billion won. Kim Nacho and Kim Popcorn, which utilize the flavor of Bibigo seaweed, are also seeking to enter the U.S. market.

Earlier, CJ CheilJedang also conducted influencer collaboration and digital campaigns to expand its contact with overseas consumers. The global brand campaign video released in April accumulated 500 million views. In Japan, comedian Eiko Kano introduced YouTube content challenging the sale of Bibigo dumplings, and the related video series exceeded 340 million cumulative views. CJ CheilJedang said its share in the Japanese dumpling market reached 10 percent for the first time as of March with the campaign.

사진 확대 The appearance of the ‘Store’ tab opened on the official Ottogi YouTube channel. [Café 24 provided]

Ottogi is paying attention to the way content is linked to actual purchases. In December last year, it introduced YouTube shopping in collaboration with food review YouTuber Black and White Review. The product purchase function is linked to the video where the creator eats and reviews Ottogi products directly so that viewers can purchase products immediately while watching the contents. It is a strategy to expand sales contact points by utilizing the influence of external creators as well as producing their own contents.

The global growth of K-food is behind the background of food companies working hard on content. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, agri-food exports last year rose 4.3 percent from the previous year to $10.41 billion, exceeding $10 billion for the first time in history. Ramen exports, in particular, topped $1.5 billion for the first time, up 21.9% from the previous year.

Industry sources say that it is now important to secure familiarity with the brand itself and fandom as product awareness has increased overseas. In particular, digital platforms such as YouTube and Shortform are highly utilized in that they can promote brands to consumers in each country without a separate offline distribution network.

“As K-food’s global recognition has increased, there is a growing movement to deliver the brand experience itself overseas beyond simply exporting products,” an industry official said. “Connecting global fandom secured through content to product sales and character IP businesses will be a new task for food companies in the future.”