A pack of the “Vietnam Rice Noodle.”

A pack of “Sacheon Mara Soup Noodle.” (Photos: CJ Cheiljedang)

CJ Cheiljedang expanded its ethnic food lineup recently by putting on the market the “Vietnam Rice Noodle” and “Sacheon Mara Soup Noodle” brands, the food company said.

The ethnic foods, mainly made of the indigenous foods in the countries of Central and Southeast Asia, have become a key part of the global menu, with demand for the foods rising fast in recent years.

The fast food makers have been coming up with their own versions of the exotic foreign foods that can be tasted at home to take advantage of the rising demand for foreign traditional foods around the world.

The company used its own unique technology, the “Silky Noodle,” to make rice noodles to make the noodles stickier. The rice powder is cooked at a high temperature and then put through a noodle machine, making the noodles very sticky and yet soft.

When picked up with chop sticks, they don’t break apart easily unlike the flour noodles, the company said.

Meanwhile, the Sacheon Mara Soup Noodle is made of both flour and corn noodles in a soup made with pepper powders using the peppers from the Sacheon region in China to give special tastes to the soup.

The market for the ethnic food is Korea is expect to be worth as much as 20 billion won this year, which is not yet significant, but is nonetheless growing consistently at a 7 percent pace annually over the past several years.

The two CJ Cheiljedang foreign foods it put on the market recently were made with rice and corn flour instead of just flour.

CJ CheilJedang has acquired controlling stake in Vietnamese food processing company Minh Dat Food for 15 billion won ($13.44 million), according to local media reports.

It signed a contract to take over 64.9 percent stake in the fish and meat processing firm in November last year and the deal will be sealed by April. The Vietnamese company is the virtual market leader in meatball sales and posted 13 billion won revenue in 2016.

The South Korean food company entered the Southeast Asian country in 1999, establishing CJ Vina Agri, but has been aggressively strengthening its foothold there since last year.

CJ has purchased 4.08 percent stake in state-owned meat processor Vissan and took over largest kimchi manufacturer Ong Kim’s in March.

It also partnered with state-run retail company Saigon Trading Group in September and completed a factory for soy-based feed in November.

It is further seeking to acquire Cau Tre, Vietnam’s largest food company, whose largest stakeholder is Saigon Trading Group.

CJ CheilJedang Corp. said it bought privately held U.S. frozen foods firm Schwan’s Co for $1.84 billion, the South Korean food-to-entertainment conglomerate’s biggest-ever acquisition. The acquisition builds on CJ’s push into the United States.

The firm in August bought Ohio-based Kahiki Foods, a supplier of frozen Asian meals to stores including Walmart.

The latest deal will give CJ access to Schwan’s distribution network, including logistics centers and delivery vehicles, as it looks to expand its existing U.S. business focused on Korean food such as dumplings and noodles, CJ said in a statement.

Schwan’s, owner of brands such as Red Baron, Freschetta, MaMa Rosa’s and Tony’s pizza, has an annual revenue of $3 billion and the second-largest U.S. frozen-pizza market share, Jefferies said in a research note last month. It employs 12,000 people.

This buyout is among the biggest outbound deals in recent years by a South Korean company, following Samsung Electronics’ $8 billion purchase of U.S. car tech company Harman and LG Electronics’ $1 billion takeover of an Austrian auto light maker.