OTOKI said on the 1st that it has completed the establishment of a local sales subsidiary in Tokyo to diversify its overseas business and pioneer new markets.
According to OTOKI, the Japan subsidiary completed its incorporation on the 15th and will begin full-scale operations after September. The Japan subsidiary is the fourth overseas base after New Zealand, the United States, and Vietnam.
OTOKI plans to showcase products such as ramen as its mainstay, along with K-sauces and sesame oil, in the Japan market.
With interest in K-food rising, OTOKI noted it plans to expand the market with differentiated products in step with the trend.
According to import-export trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service, Korea's ramen exports to Japan totaled $57.97 million in 2023, $62.55 million in 2024, and $77.31 million last year, continuing to grow recently. By country, last year's exports to Japan were the fourth largest after China ($385.39 million), the United States ($254.74 million), and the Netherlands ($77.72 million).
OTOKI's overseas sales in the first quarter of this year rose 9.6% from a year earlier, and the share of overseas sales expanded from 10.9% to 11.5%. OTOKI plans to achieve 1.1 trillion won in global sales by 2030.
An OTOKI official said, "While expanding sales is important, we will focus on communicating locally so we can deliver products made with care to Japanese consumers and provide the joy of K-food."