Samyang Foods' Samyang Ramen 1963, re-released after 36 years, is drawing attention beyond being a simple retro product, aligning with the trend of a reappraisal of animal fats. Since the 1989 industrial oil scandal (commonly known as the tallow scandal), tallow (beef fat) has long been treated like a taboo despite being harmless to humans.
In this comeback, Samyang Foods has instead put the deep flavor of tallow front and center. Some say it is not mere nostalgia marketing, but a declaration toward restoring the honor of animal fats.
According to the food industry on the 26th, Samyang Foods will hold a new product launch event on Nov. 3 and release a premium ramen made with beef fat. The product name is said to be Samyang Ramen 1963, taken from 1963, the year the first ramen was launched in Korea.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for edible animal fats is expected to grow from $511 million (about 730 billion won) in 2023 to $759.2 million (about 1.09142 trillion won) in 2032. Lard (pork fat), tallow, and butter, once pushed aside as unhealthy fats, are now being re-evaluated as healthy traditional fats.
The spark for this trend was lit by the U.S. MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement. When Minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the Department of Health and Human Services in the second Donald Trump administration, said, Seed oils are toxic, and restoring animal fats is how we can make America healthy again, controversy flared. As a campaign spread to eliminate the eight seed oils, such as canola oil and grapeseed oil, traditional fats like butter, lard, and tallow are rising. There are even findings that the saturated fatty acid content of animal fats like tallow (43%) and lard (42%) is lower than palm oil (50%), which is mainly used in ramen.
This trend has landed in Korea as well. After the popularity of low-carb, high-fat diets, high-fat menus such as samgyeopsal, ghee butter, and lard oil have taken hold as a kind of health food, and the food industry has begun to commercialize animal fats outright as premium ingredients.
Edible oil maker Truvia recently launched Real Choice Lard and Latello (lard + tallow), premium cooking oils refined from domestically produced pork leaf lard and tallow from premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo. The brand's philosophy is to move beyond the problems left by modern, seed oil-centric diets and reclaim real fats that suit our bodies.
Convenience store chains have joined in. GS25 this month collaborated with Seoul Milk to release Seoul Milk Salt Cream Bread made with 100% animal fresh cream. Instead of palm oil (palm kernel oil), it uses real fresh cream extracted from milk, with German butter and Andes salt added for a higher level of finish. The product is drawing popularity under the title of the first animal fresh cream bread at a convenience store.
Animal fat is also the secret to flavor. Many say it brings out more depth in cooking than vegetable oils. Kim Eung-seo, owner of the famous tonkatsu restaurant Yeondon, said on a broadcast, I melt pork fat every day and use lard oil instead of cooking oil, adding, This is the secret to the crispness and flavor of the tonkatsu. Samyang Foods likewise showed confidence in restoring flavor by highlighting the nutty taste of its tallow ramen.
Some in the food industry see the re-release of Tallow Ramen 1963 as the signal flare of an animal fat renaissance. Animal fats, which had been pushed out under the frame that vegetable oils are healthier, are now being reappraised by the power of science and the market. An industry official said, Animal fat is not an enemy to be avoided unconditionally; depending on how it is refined and what raw materials are used, it can become a healthy fat, adding, Now the quality of fat is what determines the class of a food.