Year-end marketing and promotion burden increases due to the impeachment situation… ‘Reliable Man’ emerges as an exporter
“Export expansion is inevitable due to political chaos and population decline… “We must create ‘Korea’s Nestle’”
In the aftermath of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s impeachment, the food industry, which was already suffering from high inflation and a domestic recession, faced another crisis. If political uncertainty continues, consumer sentiment is likely to decline further.
The industry is expected to further accelerate its efforts to target overseas markets to overcome the limitations of the domestic market.
According to the industry on the 17th, the food industry plans to focus on overseas markets rather than domestically, taking the lead in ‘K-Food’, which has built a high level of recognition and positive image in the global market. This is because the domestic market is currently under a heavy burden to conduct active marketing or promotions in an environment where internal and external uncertainty has increased due to the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.
In fact, in a chaotic situation due to the impeachment situation, the situation is better for companies with a high proportion of exports. Samyang Foods is considered a representative example. Samyang Foods is achieving success in the global market with its ‘Fildak Bokkeum Ramen’ and is showing continuous growth through strong brand power at home and abroad. As a result, Samyang Foods’ export amount jumped nearly nine-fold, from 93 billion won in 2016 to 809.3 billion won last year. As of the third quarter of this year, cumulative exports amounted to 963.8 billion won.
In the long term, expanding overseas markets is considered an essential task for the food industry. For example, in the domestic market, it is difficult to raise prices and secure profitability because government policies and consumer public opinion must be taken into consideration. On the other hand, overseas markets have great appeal in that they can break away from these restrictions and establish more flexible pricing strategies.
For several years now, the domestic food industry has been focusing on developing overseas markets with export expansion as its main strategy. As a result, major items such as ramen, confectionery, beverages, and processed rice foods are recording high growth.
In the case of Korean ramen, exports reached $1.1384 billion (approximately KRW 1.5967 trillion) in November, a 30.0% increase compared to the same period last year, breaking an all-time high. Exports of confectionery also increased by 16.5% to $705.7 million (approximately KRW 989.8 billion), and beverage exports increased by 14.9% to $609.3 million (approximately KRW 854.6 billion). During the same period, exports of processed rice foods such as frozen kimbap, instant rice, and tteokbokki also increased by 39.3% to $275 million (approximately 385.7 billion won).
Ultimately, expanding exports is not simply a temporary alternative, but is becoming a long-term survival strategy for the food industry. An industry official said, “In a situation where the domestic market is frozen, overseas expansion is not just an alternative but an essential strategy,” adding, “In order to overcome uncertainty caused by political risks and continue stable performance, targeting the global market will become more important.”
Experts are also pointing out the structural limitations of the domestic market and emphasizing the need for an overseas market-oriented strategy.
Eunhee Lee, a professor of consumer studies at Inha University, said, “The domestic market has growth limits in a situation where population growth is limited, so it is more desirable to basically focus on exports,” adding, “In the long run, we will move away from focusing on domestic demand and expand the proportion of exports.” It is more advantageous in the long run to actively explore overseas markets. “We need this export-oriented strategy so that a global food company like Nestlé or Coca-Cola can be created in our country,” he said.
(Seoul = News 1)
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog