Golf fans enjoy Bibigo mandu ( dumpling) during a PGA Tour championship. (Photo: CJ Cheiljedang)

CJ Cheiljedang became one of the official brand sponsors of the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour Championship held in Arizona from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. The food company publicized K-food values by highlighting its Bibigo brand.

It was the second year that CJ Cheiljedang had participated in a PGA Tour Championship as an official brand sponsor.

Last year’s first PGA tour championship, in which the company participated as a brand sponsor, was held at the Riviera Country Club.

The Korean company also participated in six other PGA Tour championships, including The CJ Cup held in Jeju Island. This year, CJ Cheiljedang plans to participate in major PGA Tour championships, including the TPC to raise the standing of the brand Bibigo.

CJ Cheiljedang operated the Bibigo booth during the PGA Tour Championship to showcase its Bibigo product portfolio, including flagship products like Mini-Wonton (Chinese-style dumpling) and Wanggyoja (King-size Dumpling).

The company prepared enough food for 10,000 people, and said there was none left after the event.

Sarah Speltz, a spectator from Texas, was among those who tasted Bibigo products. She was quoted as saying that Bibigo Mandu was delicious, and the experience and watching the championship would remain long in her memory.

Park Eun-sun, in charge of marketing the food brand at CJ Cheiljedang, said mandu, Korea’s representative food, was served to the local gallery, and she was pleased to convey Korean cuisine’s healthy taste.

CJ Cheiljedang plans to concentrate on publicizing Korean cuisine’s superiority and Bibigo’s values, she added.

CJ Cheiljedang ‘Bibogo’ & and ‘Gourmet’ to Lead Chinese HMR Market

Expand product portfolio by releasing new frozen cooking products such Korean and western side dishes following tracks of Bibigo mandu. CJ Cheiljedang brands Bibogo and Gourmet are standing at the forefront of its efforts to tap the Chinese market.

Following Bibigo mandu (Chinese dumpling), the company has expanded its product portfolio by releasing new frozen cooking products such Korean and Western side dishes.

The move is in line with CJ Cheiljedang’s strategy to pursue qualitative and quantitative growth in the Chinese frozen food market, as the brands have made a name for themselves in the Korean frozen market.

The Chinese frozen food market, whose size stands at roughly 2 trillion won, has grown 3 percent at an annual average rate in the past three years, and mandu accounts for 30 percent of that.

On the contrary, frozen cooking products such as hamburger steak and meat balls are insignificant in size, not yet being classified into any specific category.

Of late, urbanization and lifestyle changes have led to signs of rising consumption in convenient products and consumers’ needs for frozen cooking products.

Chinese people born in the 1980s and 1990s have more overseas experience, and they account for over half of China’s food consumption, so their tendency for preferring a global menu is on the rise, and that will accelerate in the years to come.

As part of that trend, CJ Cheiljedang sees amble reason for growth of the Chinese frozen food cooking market. CJ Cheiljedang says the company is releasing items whose quality is equal to that of specialized outlets by making the most of the company’s R&D and manufacturing technology capacities.

CJ Cheiljedang saw Bibigo mandu sales shoot up from 7 billion won in 2015 to 50 billion won last year.

Even though the company does not find it not easy to stir up consumers’ appetite due to expensive prices and lower brand standing, CJ Cheiljedang has attracted Chinese consumers by releasing products based on the company’s manufacturing expertise and advanced technology power and the ones tailored to meet Chinese consumers’ local tastes.

The company has put on the Chinese market Bibigo and Gourmet’s strategic items, including Korean traditional tteokgalbi (grilled beef ribs), hamburger steak, and meat ball, which are on a roll with great appeal in Korea.

CJ Cheiljedang’s Bibigo mandu plant in Liaocheng, China, outfitted with frozen food cooking equipment with 10 billion won in investments, has succeeded in making a difference - realizing ample meat juices and soft meat fleshiness by making the most of manufacturing technology and expertise being employed in Korea.