THE K-craze: FMCG companies to restaurants, all ride 'Hallyu Wave'

Companies expand offerings beyond noodles, trade witnessing a food twist

The pandemic-induced lockdown introduced people to many new things. While home-baked sourdough bread and dalgona coffee are just some fads that came and vanished, the Hallyu Wave – a phenomenon about the growing global prominence of South Korean pop culture – refuses to die down.

As K-dramas and K-music continue to enthral Indian fans, Korean food products, too, are having their moment under the sun. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMGC) companies are riding the Hallyu wave and expanding offerings beyond just ramen to cater to this new taste profile of consumers.
 

Earlier this year, South Korean FMCG company Orion launched its new range – K-snack rings. A new Korean flavour variant of Bingo chips from the House of ITC was also launched in the market in March this year.

 

According to data sourced from consumer research firm NIQ, sales of South Korean chips has touched Rs 19.7 crore in the last six months, “indicating a growing consumer pull towards this flavour,” said Roosevelt Dsouza, head of customer success - India, NIQ.
 

At Modern Bazaar, a premium supermarket chain based in Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh, month-on-month (M-o-M) sales of Korean flavoured chips have risen by 5-10 per cent. “Customers are really enjoying these products and the companies, in fact, are unable to cater to the growth. We have stepped up our procurement of Orion chips to 300 cases now from 50 in February, when it first launched, while the Bingo Korean flavoured chips have seen a growth of 2-3 per cent since their launch,” said Kamal Rana, head of purchasing and expansion at Modern Bazaar.
 

South Korean noodles sales, too, are seeing a growth of 20-25 per cent at the supermarket chain.
 

Last year, major FMCG companies, including Nestle India, HUL, and Nissin had launched Korean noodles to cater to the growing demand for the product.
 

“The Korean noodles market has been witnessing a significant consumer attention with a fourfold increase in sales value, reaching Rs 94.5 crore (MAT May '24), compared to Rs 23.5 crore in (MAT May'23),” D’Souza added.
 

Besides FMCG firms, restaurants are also cashing in on the Hallyu wave. Social has tied up with the Embassy of South Korea, to celebrate a month-long Kore-yeah festival. In the first 13 days since the launch, the chain has sold over 24,000 items from the specially-curated menu, with revenues from the festival going up to Rs 92 lakh.
 

“Moreover, we have seen a 12 per cent increase in footfall over the previous month,” Amlani added.
 

This cultural trend is also making a dent on India’s trade with South Korea.
 

While India’s imports from South Korea are mainly dominated by items, including petroleum products, machinery, iron and steel and organic chemicals, food items have a smaller share. However, according to government data, there has been a jump in imports of items such as gochujang sauce, ramen noodles, instant coffee, chilli paste, condiments and rice paper ginseng, over the past two years.
 

For instance, India imported 84 kg of curry paste in the financial year 2023-24 compared to nearly 24 kg during the same period a year ago. Similarly, 30.86 kg chilli sauce was imported in 2023-24 as compared to 17 kg a year ago, signalling the growing popularity of the Korean hot chilli paste, commonly known as gochujang sauce.

Still, the value of these imports is small, since they are low-value products.
 

Ajay Sahai, director general and chief executive officer (CEO) at the Federation of Indian Export Organisations said with rising middle class and higher income, we are more oriented towards the advanced economies. So, this kind of trend will continue.
 

“In terms of value, import of these items will be small but signalling is important here (in terms of import of Korean food items). So far, food items imported don't hurt the religious sentiment of anyone. If there is an import of items such as beef or related items, then we may need to be careful,” Sahai said.