Inroads into US Market
Nongshim announced that it has officially exported “Mat Jjambbong,” which leads a jjambbong (spicy noodle soup with seafood) craze in the local instant noodle market, to the U.S. on February 1. Based on its stable sales outlets expanded through Shin Ramen, the company plans to create the jjambbong craze in the U.S. as well.
Nongshim’s Mat Jjambbong has been exported in less than three months after the release. It is much faster than Nongshim’s jjajangmyeon product “Jjawang,” which took five months to be exported to the U.S.
A Nongshim official said, “U.S. consumers’ satisfactions with Jjawang led to expectations for Mat Jjambbong. In particular, consumers, who heard about the jjambbong craze in the Korean ramen market through various media outlets, asked the company to export Mat Jjambbong.”
For the first batch, Nongshim will sequentially export US$1 million (1.2 billion won) of Mat Jjambbong by the end of February. Considering the travel time by ship, the product will first hit the U.S. West Coast market as early as the middle of February. The company plans to start selling Mat Jjambbong in small and mid-size markets all across the U.S. first, and in large markets later through active sales and marketing campaigns, along with Jjawang.
Meanwhile, Nongshim will also export Mat Jjambbong to Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines in February and March. A Nongshim official said, “As the consumer response to Mat Jjambbong is very positive in the domestic ramen market as well as Jjawang, the two products are expected to become Nongshim’s new driving force in the global market, together with Shin Ramyun.”