Samyang Foods is expanding its business beyond ramyeon led by Buldak spicy ramyeon into sauces, frozen foods, and health-oriented foods. Leveraging the Buldak brand's recognition to target the dining-out market, it is also seeking new growth drivers in areas not directly related to Buldak, such as high-protein and plant-based foods and health functional foods.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's DART filing system on the 3rd, in the first quarter, Samyang Foods' consolidation revenue was 714.4 billion won, of which noodles and snacks accounted for 654 billion won, or 91.6%. Sauces and seasonings were 20.6 billion won, or 2.9%; frozen foods were 14.9 billion won, or 2.1%; and the nutrition business, including health-oriented foods, was 0.1%. Even combined, the three businesses make up 5.1% of total revenue.
Samyang Foods plans to grow its non-ramyeon business by using its existing brands and production and distribution networks while the Buldak-driven growth momentum continues, gradually easing its business structure concentrated on specific products.
Samyang Foods, in collaboration with A TWOSOME PLACE, will introduce two deli items using Buldak sauce—panini and baguette—starting on the 5th. It previously rolled out menu items using Buldak sauce with Tous Les Jours, Burger King, and OURHOME.
Responding to consumer demand, Samyang Foods launched Buldak sauce in 2018 and has expanded the lineup with items such as Carbo Buldak sauce and Buldak mayo. Recently, it has been strengthening business-to-business (B2B) supply to restaurants and franchises, going beyond business-to-consumer (B2C) sales of household bottled sauces.
First-quarter sales of sauces and seasonings rose 22.6% from a year earlier to 20.6 billion won. B2C accounted for 73.4% of sales and B2B for 26.6%. Exports were 15.9 billion won, or 77.1% of the total, while domestic sales were 4.7 billion won, down 9.6%. The expansion of collaborations appears aimed at broadening domestic dining-out and foodservice touchpoints for Buldak sauce, which has grown overseas.
Buldak sauce is meaningful in that it can extend Buldak beyond ramyeon products into a "spicy platform" used across diverse menu items. Restaurants can use Buldak's recognition to develop new dishes, and Samyang Foods can generate dining-out market revenue without directly operating stores. If these efforts lead to stable supply contracts, the company can secure larger-scale and recurring sales compared with consumer bottled sauces.
Observers say Samyang Foods' business diversification is a proactive strategy to sustain the Buldak-driven growth trend over the long term. An industry official said, "To keep growing with only ramyeon, you would need to add sales countries or expand share and output in existing markets, but if you sell sauces, frozen foods, and health-oriented products alongside them, you can increase the handled items of existing domestic and overseas subsidiaries and distribution networks and grow revenue per client."
◇ Preparing for "post-Buldak" with frozen foods and health foods
Samyang Foods also runs a frozen foods business focused on dumplings, grilled short rib patties, and cutlets. Frozen foods are relatively easy to expand into B2B channels such as institutional catering and food ingredient distribution, and supplying frozen finished goods together with sauces to dining-out and foodservice operators gives the sauce business strong linkage potential.
Being able to leverage the existing ramyeon distribution network is also an advantage. Adding frozen foods to domestic and overseas clients can cut the cost and time of building new sales channels. However, frozen food sales are smaller than sauces and seasonings, making the acquisition of long-term clients in catering and ingredient channels a key task.
Health and nutrition is cited as a new business line kept at a distance from the Buldak brand. Samyang Foods operates Pulse Lab, a nutrition snack brand using chickpeas, and Tangle, a protein pasta brand, and in May it launched Spindle, a metabolism-focused healthcare brand, entering the health functional food market.
While sauces and frozen foods aim for relatively quick revenue growth by using the existing Buldak brand and food manufacturing capabilities, health and nutrition is more about finding the growth axis after Buldak from a long-term perspective. Still, the nutrition business accounts for only 0.1% of sales so far.
An industry official said, "Samyang Foods' diversification is being carried out by applying Buldak's flavor profile and brand recognition, along with existing manufacturing technology and distribution networks, to adjacent markets, rather than indiscriminately adding businesses unrelated to Buldak," adding, "The task ahead is to ensure that collaborations with restaurants and new product launches do not stop at one-off marketing but translate into recurring revenue and profit."