K-snacks, which had been expanding exports overseas with kimchi- and tteokbokki-flavored snacks, are now targeting the global market with new spicy combinations such as buldak, yangnyeom chicken, and gochujang.
According to the industry on the 10th, more snack products coated in spicy seasoning are hitting the market. A prime example is Nongshim. Nongshim plans to launch Potato Chip K-yangnyeom chicken flavor on the 14th. Yangnyeom chicken, one of the flagship K-food menu items, is a "Korean-style spiciness" well known among foreigners. With the sweet-and-spicy combination unique to yangnyeom chicken flavor, the company aims to target not only the domestic market but also overseas markets.
ORION is also stepping up its push into overseas markets with spicy Kkobuk Chip. The Kkobuk Chip brand's cumulative sales top 500 billion won. From January to July this year, exports of Kkobuk Chip to the United States reached 11.3 billion won, up 33% from a year earlier. In addition to Kkobuk Chip yangnyeom chicken flavor, which launched simultaneously in Korea and the United States this year, Kkobuk Chip spicy lime flavor (Flaming Lime Flavor) is also being sold on online malls and at overseas supermarkets.
Samyang Foods is extending its Buldak brand into snacks. The Buldak brand's cumulative sales at Samyang Foods amount to 4 trillion won. A representative example is Buldak potato chips (original, habanero & lime, four-cheese flavor), launched in the Japanese market in June last year. At the time, cumulative sales reached 300,000 bags just one month after launch. It also ranked No. 2 in sales among 37 K-snack products sold across Japan.
In addition, LOTTE Wellfood's Kkokkalcorn Mad Hot Gochujang Charcoal-grilled Flavor put forward its Scoville heat unit (SHU) of 9,300 front and center, appealing to domestic and international consumers' "maep-bu-shim" (pride in being able to handle spicy food). Shindang-dong tteokbokki snack from Haitai Confectionery & Foods, considered an original in this category, is also being sold on overseas malls.
The food industry sees the popularity of spicy K-snacks as the result of "playful consumption." As K-content gains global popularity, the preferences of overseas consumers in the United States, Europe, and Asia who have come to enjoy Korea's unique spiciness are intersecting with playful consumption such as social media (SNS) certifications, it said.
A food industry official said, "Revealing the Scoville rating or releasing export-only spicy products is a device to encourage consumers to take on spicy snacks and post proof," adding, "Some may simply enjoy spiciness itself, but the process of sharing on SNS while saying 'I'll see how spicy it is' turns into consumption."
Another official said, "To the point that there is an English expression 'swicy,' the sweet-and-spicy (spicy + sweet) profile has begun to take hold as a global trend," adding, "Attempts to add variations to spiciness—like combinations such as yangnyeom chicken or buldak and hot honey—are becoming more frequent."
Experts predict that for the spicy K-snack boom to continue, the intensity of the heat and its pairing with other flavors will be key. Lee Eun-hee, a professor in the Department of Consumer Science at Inha University, said, "We need to find new spicy combinations for overseas consumers to keep eating K-snacks," adding, "As dishes incorporating K-sauces diversify, if we also apply them well to K-snacks and conduct research and development, the spicy K-snack market will grow further."
Seo Yong-gu, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "Spiciness is directly linked to Korea's identity," adding, "It is time to conduct many new experiments, research, and development to find spicy combinations that resonate with people around the world."