Korean food exports have reached record highs in recent years, supported by the global popularity of K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, and growing curiosity about Korean dining culture. However, the next stage of growth may depend on whether Korean food companies can move beyond a few iconic products such as ramen and kimchi and introduce a wider variety of Korean flavors and meal experiences.

From your perspective, what has been the true driver behind the global rise of K-food, and what do Korean food companies need to do to sustain this momentum over the long-term?

I believe the rise of K-food globally is closely connected to the expansion of K culture as a whole. The global audience that first became interested in Korea through K-pop, Korean films, Korean dramas and Korean beauty naturally became more curious about Korean food as well. In particular, younger generations around the world have embraced Korean culture very enthusiastically, and that cultural interest has created a very strong foundation for Korean food to grow internationally.

I think one of the biggest reasons for this success is that Korean cultural content has been developed at a very high level of quality. As people repeatedly experience Korean culture through entertainment, fashion and beauty, Korean food becomes part of that same lifestyle experience. Consumers no longer see Korean food as something unfamiliar or exotic. Instead, they begin to see it as something connected to modern culture and daily life.

However, I believe maintaining this momentum will require more than simply relying on a few iconic products. Korean food companies need to diversify much further. Products such as ramen and kimchi played an important role in introducing Korean flavors globally, but moving forward, the industry needs to introduce a wider variety of Korean flavors and meal experiences. Convenience products such as frozen gimbap, cup rice and home meal replacement products have strong potential because they fit modern global eating habits.

Another important factor is localization. Companies need to think carefully about how Korean food can naturally fit into local lifestyles. This includes not only adapting products to local preferences, but also building localized supply chains and production systems. In some cases, local production may become necessary, especially for products that are difficult to export directly while maintaining quality.

Finally, I believe preparation for international certification systems is becoming increasingly important. Markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are extremely important for future growth, and certifications such as MUI halal in Indonesia and JAKIM halal in Malaysia are essential for entering those regions successfully. Korean companies need to prepare for those standards proactively if they want to continue growing globally.

Frozen gimbap recently gained major international attention through social media and strong demand in parts of the United States. However, viral food trends do not always become stable long-term categories.

From your perspective, does frozen gimbap represent a sustainable global opportunity for Korean food companies, or does it still face challenges in becoming a mainstream product?

Frozen gimbap definitely experienced a major surge in popularity through YouTube and social media, especially in the United States. At that time, demand increased very quickly and there was tremendous interest from consumers who were curious about Korean food and Korean convenience products.

However, when we look at the market today, the situation has changed somewhat. Rather than demand continuing to expand rapidly, supply has increased significantly. In some cases, this has resulted in pricing pressure because more products entered the market at the same time. So while frozen gimbap clearly demonstrated that Korean convenience foods can attract global attention, there are still questions about whether the category itself has fully stabilized as a long-term mainstream market.

I think one important issue is that long-term success requires more than viral marketing. Social media attention can create initial demand, but for a product to become sustainable, it needs to fit naturally into consumers’ everyday eating habits. That means companies may need to rethink not only marketing strategies but also the product itself.

For example, there may be opportunities to adjust ingredients, flavor combinations or formats in ways that are more familiar and appealing to local consumers while still maintaining the identity of Korean food. Ultimately, the product needs to evolve beyond being seen as a novelty item and instead become something consumers can easily incorporate into their regular meals.

 

Korean sauces and spicy flavors have become a major entry point for international consumers discovering Korean food, with gochujang and Korean barbecue sauces increasingly appearing in mainstream supermarkets and restaurants.

How do you balance the identity of Korean flavors with the need to adapt products to local tastes and consumer behavior?

Consumers around the world are extremely curious about spicy flavors. Every country has its own unique spicy food culture, and many people enjoy experiencing new and diverse levels of heat. Because of that, Korean spicy flavors have attracted a great deal of global attention.

I believe the rising global popularity of Korean sauces aligned perfectly with global culinary trends and consumer curiosity. However, when we think about long-term success for Korean sauces globally, companies need to focus on balancing tradition with localization. Even if a product has a very strong or authentic flavor, it cannot survive long-term unless consumers can naturally incorporate it into their everyday meals and routines.

For example, products such as gochujang-based noodle sauces or soy sauce-based Korean barbecue sauces have strong global potential because they can be used in many different ways. The important thing is to deeply understand the core characteristics of Korean flavor, including umami, fermentation, spice, and pepper-based flavor profiles, while also creating recipes that feel approachable and practical for local consumers.

I think authenticity remains extremely important, but localization should not mean losing Korean identity. Instead, it should mean finding ways for Korean flavors to connect naturally with consumers in different markets.

Pepper Lab’s sauce line-up available in the U.S. market, is designed to bring authentic flavors easily into home kitchens. 

Convenience has become a defining trend in the global food industry, especially as single-person households increase and consumers look for faster, easier meal solutions without sacrificing quality. Your company slogan, “Cook Simpler, Taste Better,” seems to reflect this shift directly.

How has the relationship between convenience, quality, and modern food culture influenced Dongbang Food Master’s product development strategy?

Our slogan contains two very important values.

The first is “Cook Simpler.” This reflects our desire to reduce the inconvenience people experience in the kitchen. Preparing raw ingredients, purchasing multiple materials and spending long periods cooking can be difficult for modern consumers who live very busy lives. Through sauces, seasoning products and semi prepared meal kits, we want to reduce cooking time and improve efficiency.

The second value is “Taste Better.” Convenience alone is not enough. Consumers still want quality, flavor and satisfaction. Even if a product is simple to prepare, it must still deliver strong taste quality and preserve the essence of the original dish.

In Korea, family structures and lifestyles have changed significantly. There are more single-person households than before, and many consumers are balancing extremely busy schedules. Because of this, cooking every meal completely from scratch has become increasingly difficult.

As a result, convenience foods and home meal replacement products have grown rapidly.

Of course, there can sometimes be tension between convenience and health perception, as some consumers still feel convenience food may not always be healthy. To bridge this gap, we are actively developing premium functional product lines under our wellness brands, incorporating high-quality ingredients like low-molecular collagen and low-sugar alternatives to meet the ‘Healthy Pleasure’ trend.

For us, the ultimate challenge is finding ways to deliver convenience, health, and authentic taste all at the same time. That balance is becoming increasingly important in the global food industry.

 

Korea has one of the world’s most advanced food delivery cultures, and the pandemic further accelerated demand for ready meals and home meal replacement products.

How has Korea’s delivery culture influenced the development of the food manufacturing industry?

Korea has an extremely advanced delivery culture compared to many other countries. Japan and the United States also have developed systems, but Korea has a particularly long history with food delivery, especially in categories such as fried chicken and Chinese food delivery.

This culture existed even before mobile applications became common. Over time, technology and app-based platforms made the system even more efficient and sophisticated. As delivery culture evolved, it also created new opportunities for the food manufacturing industry, especially in convenience foods and home meal replacement products.

The COVID pandemic accelerated this trend significantly. During that period, many people could not easily visit restaurants or dine outside, so demand for simple meal solutions at home increased rapidly. Consumers wanted food that was convenient but still satisfying and high quality.

As a result, the HMR industry experienced very strong growth. I think this period changed consumer behavior permanently in many ways. Convenience, speed and accessibility became even more important, and food manufacturers had to respond quickly to those changing expectations.

Kimchi Sauce

Matdashi Sauce

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As food companies expand internationally, speed, quality consistency, food safety, and product stability are becoming increasingly important. Dongbang Food Master has also begun integrating AI into its operations.

How do you see AI and smart manufacturing changing food product development and production in the future?

We are still in the development stage and have not fully completed the system yet, but we are actively building databases and integrating AI technology into our operations.

One of the most important examples is our recipe database. Through years of research and development, we have accumulated approximately 3,000 recipes. This is one of our company’s major strengths. In the past, much of this information was stored in Excel files, which made searching and analyzing the data time consuming and complicated for researchers.

With AI systems, we can retrieve similar recipe data much more quickly and efficiently. This allows us to identify the flavor profiles customers are targeting and significantly reduce development time. Researchers can begin with an existing foundation and then refine details more precisely, rather than starting from zero every time.

This not only improves speed, but also helps maintain quality consistency because development is based on accumulated data and previous experience. That stability is very important when working with customers who require reliable production standards.

We are also working on smart HACCP systems through a government-supported project. If production, hygiene and safety related data are integrated into the system, then when problems occur during production, the system can help identify issues quickly and allow faster responses.

Another important area is shelf life testing for export products. Overseas partners often request longer shelf life periods, and AI driven systems can help shorten testing timelines and improve efficiency when evaluating product stability.

Ultimately, I believe these technologies will allow companies to deliver safer products, faster development cycles and more stable quality management.

 

Dongbang Food Master has spent decades building expertise across B2B manufacturing, OEM, ODM, and ingredient development.

In a fast-moving global food industry where products can often be copied, what makes your R&D capabilities and accumulated know-how difficult for competitors to replicate?

I believe our competitiveness comes from the combination of accumulated experience, our recipe database and our ability to apply knowledge in real manufacturing environments.

Our R&D is not limited to laboratory research alone. Over many years, we experienced countless trial and error processes while trying to reduce the gap between theoretical recipe design and actual mass production. Through those experiences, we accumulated approximately 3,000 recipes and a large amount of practical manufacturing knowledge.

Today, we are building an AI-based database system that functions not simply as a collection of records, but as a flavor library that allows us to respond quickly to customer requests and changing market trends.

This system also helps us respond more effectively when ingredient prices fluctuate or supply chain instability occurs. In those situations, we can identify alternative ingredients while maintaining flavor and quality consistency.

Another important factor is the diversity of our customers. Over the years, we have worked with franchise companies, factories, chicken brands, beverage companies, burger brands and meat processing businesses across many categories. Their demands and expectations continuously challenged us and helped strengthen our capabilities.

I believe this accumulated experience is difficult to replicate quickly because it was built gradually over decades through real customer relationships and practical production experience.

The Dong Bang Food Master R&D Center; driving innovation in sauce development and global flavor trends

Much of Dongbang Food Master’s growth has been built not only on manufacturing capability, but also on long-term partnerships with restaurant brands, franchises, and food industry partners.

Can the same trust-based partnership model that supported your growth in Korea also be built with overseas partners and international brands?

For more than 46 years, the most important value in our business has been trust. Long-term partnerships can only continue when both sides share the same values and expectations.

Of course, problems and mistakes can happen in any business relationship. However, what matters most is how quickly and sincerely companies respond when those situations occur. I believe our ability to respond quickly and responsibly has helped us build strong relationships with customers over many years.

Ultimately, I think this comes down to sincerity. Whether the partner is domestic or international, the principle remains the same.

There are three core values that our partners expect from us.

The first is technical capability. Customers expect us to develop recipes and control manufacturing processes in ways that consistently achieve the taste and quality they require.

The second is quality consistency and reliability. If quality varies from production to production, it directly affects our customers’ own businesses and brands.

The third is problem solving ability. Whether the issue involves customer complaints or internal production problems, companies need to identify causes quickly and respond effectively.

I believe these values are universal. That is why I think the same type of long-term partnerships we built in Korea can also be developed successfully with overseas partners.

Pepper Lab Witch Soup

Pepper Lab marks an important step in Dongbang Food Master’s move from B2B manufacturing toward a more consumer-facing global brand.

What inspired the creation of Pepper Lab, and what does the brand represent for the company’s future?

Pepper Lab was originally created in 2022. At that time, our company was still focused primarily on B2B and OEM business, so there was not yet a strong opportunity to actively develop the brand.

However, in early 2025, discussions with an American export partner began moving forward quickly. Fortunately, we had already registered the Pepper Lab trademark in the United States, which allowed us to move quickly when those opportunities emerged.

The name itself reflects our company’s history and philosophy.

When Dongbang Food Master was founded, our business focused heavily on spices, seasonings and powdered ingredients. Pepper was one of the most important foundational ingredients for the company.

At the same time, I do not think of pepper simply as a spice. I think it also represents culture. Different countries all have their own pepper cultures and flavor traditions, so the word itself carries a broad and universal meaning.

The word “Lab” can refer to a laboratory, but for us it also symbolizes innovation, development and reliability. Combining those ideas together is what led to the creation of the Pepper Lab brand.

Currently, Pepper Lab is rapidly establishing its presence, driven by aggressive product launches and localized marketing centered on the North American market. In fact, our ‘6 types of Korean-style dipping sauces’ launched in 2025 received an enthusiastic response from local consumers, and the subsequent ‘4 types of easy-cooking sauces’ also stabilized in the market through strong word-of-mouth. Building on this success, we plan to accelerate brand expansion by broadening our lineup into everyday convenience food categories in the second half of 2026.

In conclusion, Pepper Lab is a brand that trendily commercializes the core competencies of our parent company, Dongbang Food Master—specifically our expertise in spices, seasonings, and sauce technology. By proactively offering products that global consumers desire most, Pepper Lab stands as a core asset driving our company’s next-generation growth engine. Ultimately, moving beyond a conventional manufacturer that simply supplies products, evolving into a ‘K-Food Curator and Solution Partner’ that resolves kitchen challenges worldwide is the true future direction Dongbang Food Master aims to achieve.”

As Dongbang Food Master expands overseas, what are your main priorities for international growth, and what opportunities or challenges have stood out during this process?

We believe that whenever there is an opportunity, we should actively pursue it.

Last year, we closely examined the possibility of establishing production bases across key global regions, including Europe, to evaluate local operational and regulatory environments. Based on these insights, we are currently strategic in our approach, carefully analyzing and fine-tuning our entry timelines for each market to build the most stable and effective global supply chain.

At the moment, North America is our biggest focus because it is one of the world’s largest consumer markets and has a highly diverse population. Currently, our products are sold mainly through Korean supermarkets, but our long-term goal is to expand further into mainstream distribution channels across the eastern, central and southern United States.

We also see strong opportunities in B2B partnerships because that has been one of our core strengths for many years. Through partnerships with franchise companies and food service operators, we hope to expand the distribution of Korean flavors internationally.

Another important area is online platforms. We want to strengthen brand awareness and collect customer data that can help us develop products that are better suited to local consumers and local eating habits.

Beyond North America, we are also preparing for Southeast Asia and the Middle East through halal certifications such as MUI and JAKIM.

One thing that stood out to me during visits to the United States was seeing large numbers of non-Asian consumers shopping for Korean food as part of their everyday lives. In places like Atlanta, I saw many local and Latin American consumers shopping regularly at Korean supermarkets, not simply out of curiosity but as part of their normal routine. That made me feel that Korean food has strong potential to move further into mainstream global markets.

 

As Dongbang Food Master approaches its 50th anniversary, what kind of company do you hope it will become, both domestically and globally?

What is the larger long-term vision for the company?

In Korea, excluding the large conglomerates, we want to become the number one company in the seasoning and processed food industry.

Globally, our biggest priority is exports, especially expanding into mainstream channels in North America. We also hope to build more meaningful opportunities in Europe and Southeast Asia through stronger partnerships and local market development.

Another major goal is establishing overseas production bases. This could happen through direct factory investment or potentially through mergers and acquisitions with local sauce and seasoning companies. Building local supply chains through local production is one of my biggest long-term ambitions.

At the same time, we want to continue developing Korean flavors in ways that can naturally become part of consumers’ daily meals around the world. We do not want Korean food to remain only a niche or specialty category. We want it to become part of everyday food culture globally.

Ultimately, I would like our company to create a signature product similar to Heinz ketchup, something consumers naturally keep in their refrigerators and restaurants place on tables everywhere.

Recently, I visited the Heinz office in Seoul and saw a large ketchup bottle installation at the entrance. Seeing that made me think about creating something symbolic and recognizable for our own company as well. One day, I would love for our company to have its own signature product and identity that people around the world immediately recognize and trust.

 

Craving authentic Korean flavors? Check out Dong Bang Food’s website: https://www.dongbangfood.com/en