An array of Anju Ya Brand appetizers including chicken feet, broiled chicken wings and boiled clams, among others. (Photos: Daesang)

Daesang Co. has emerged as a new leader the Home Meal Replacement (HMR) market since its Anju Ya brand became a hit. The company capitalized on changing lifestyles with in-office hours cut and the number of people enjoying a drink or two after the work on the rise. The company therefor introduced the Anju Ya brand in the market.

The company aims to boost its sales by 30 percent this year over last year. The company said its HMR product sales in 2015 amounted to 85.8 billion won, and 103.6 billion won the next year, breaking the 100 billion won threshold level and 129.9 billion won last year, growing over 20 percent annually in the last three years.

In the first half of this year alone, sales came to 66.7 billion won, indicating that the trend of rising sales will continue to rise.

HMR sales made up 5.89 percent of total company sales last year, up from 4.5 percent in 2015, rising to 6.04 percent in the first half of this year.

The company’s sales break down to foods and materials. The sales of HMR took a bigger share in the food sector, making up 7.56 percent in 2015, but jumped to 8.74 percent in 2016 and 8.6 percent in 2017. But in the first half of this year, it moved closer to 10 percent, coming in at 9.19 percent, showing that the share can rise by two digits this year if trends continue.

The HMR brands include the Anju Ya, the Homeward, and the Jongkabansang (Head House Dining Table), among others, with Anju Ya leading in sales among them.

Its sales in the initial year came to 1.25 million pieces, rising to 6.7 million pieces the next year and from January to August this year, it sold 8 million pieces so far with no trouble posting 15 million pieces by the end of the year. Anju Ya is a simple food that every generation enjoys in place of formal meals. It appeals to those who enjoy a shot or two before eating meals.

The company intends to be ready for any change in the market with products that are complementary to such changes, such as Homeward and Jongkabansang.

Homeward, launched in March last year, was designed to differentiate itself from simple foods cooked at home. Homeward now has 27 kinds of foods under its brand, with Broiled Beef Restaurant as the representative traditional Korean eatery, which opened at the same time as the launch.

Jongkabansang (Head House Dining Table) was reintroduced at the Head House, which was determined to be reborn as a global Korean food brand. The Head House, a leading brand for the Kimchi market, put everything into the new simple premium food brand so that the customers would be able to enjoy the Head House style traditional food in a simple way.

Daesang officials said they tried to seek out a new category as a latecomer to the HMR market to develop a new product, which is the Anju Ya, the strongest competitor in the market. Homeward and Jongkabansang should be taken as products of the same hard work, the company said.