Palatable to Muslims
Shin Ramyun, Nongshim's signature red-hot spicy instant noodles which lead hallyu, or the Korean wave, in the food sector, is becoming popular among Muslims around the world.
According to Nongshim on August 3, exports of 14 halal-certified ramyun products, including Shin Ramyun, in the first half of this year stood at US$2.8 million (3.12 billion won), up 33 percent from the same period a year earlier. It is the biggest quarterly figure since the first export in 2011.
Exports of Nongshim’s halal-certified ramyun products rose from US$700,000 (780.36 million won) in 2011 to US$4.5 million (5.02 billion won) in 2015, showing an annual growth rate of 30 percent to 70 percent. Its cumulative exports from January to June this year stood at US$14.4 million (16.05 billion won), which is equivalent to 930,000 boxes or nearly 28 million packets.
The increase in exports of Shin Ramyun is largely due to the fact that Nongshim carried out an aggressive marketing strategy before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ran from June 6 to July 5, according to industry sources. As Muslims must fast from sunrise to sunset during the period, they usually buy up a large quantity of foods before the start of Ramadan. Accordingly, the company focused on expanding its local distribution networks and holding promotional events. Nongshim expects to see its exports surpass US$6 million (6.69 billion won) by the end of the year if the current trends continue.
In a bid to target the halal-certified food market, the company built special halal food production facilities at its plant in Busan in April 2011. “No Meat Halal Shin Ramyun” is the flagship product which contains bean protein instead of meat-derived food ingredients. Nongshim is paying special attention to its employees’ individual sanitary equipment and food menu at its cafeterias to pass complicated halal certification procedures.
Currently, the company has 14 kinds of halal-certified products, such as No Meat Halal Shin Ramyun, Potato Ramyun, Soon Ramyun and Vegetable Ramyun. Based on Southeast Asian countries, which has high demand in noodles like Indonesia and Malaysia, Nongshim exports halal-certified ramyun products to 40 Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.