Expands Production Infrastructure, Aiming for Further Growth
Pulmuone's innovative plant-based protein product, 'Tofu Bar,' continues its rapid sales growth, captivating the taste of local consumers in Japan's top three major convenience stores.
Pulmuone, a South Korean fresh food company, announced on the 7th that the sales of Tofu Bar, launched by its Japanese subsidiary Asahico at the end of 2020, saw a 241% growth in sales in the recent two years (based on annual sales from 2021 to 2023) with a cumulative sale of approximately 58 million units.
Tofu Bar is a plant-based protein food with 10g of protein per bar, offering a sense of fullness and a firm, chewy texture and have gained significant popularity locally as a healthy snack. In 2021, it received the '2021 Best Hit Product Convenience Store Division Award' selected by the influential business monthly Nikkei Trend. Consumed widely as a meal substitute, post-exercise protein intake, and a healthy snack, it is sold daily at an average of approximately 80,000 units in the total of over 30,000 convenience stores, including Japan's three major convenience stores—Seven Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson.
Due to this popularity, Tofu Bar surpassed 10 million units in cumulative sales within just one year of its launch, achieving 20 million units in the following 6 months. As of the end of January 2024, it has recorded a total cumulative sales of 58 million units. To meet the increasing demand for Tofu Bar, Pulmuone expanded the local production lines in January 2022 and March 2023, and with additional expansion planned in March this year, the production capacity will be increased from the existing monthly 2.18 million units to 3 million units.
Pulmuone has consistently released new Tofu Bar products tailored to local preferences. Under its own brand, it sells four varieties, including Umami Kelp, Basil Salt, Lotus Root and Soybean, and Sweet Potato. Additionally, as convenience store private-label products, it offers 11 Tofu Bar products, such as Wafudaishi seasoned with seaweed and bonito broth, and Yuzukosho flavored with green pepper and yuzu.
"Tofu Bar allows people to easily and efficiently enjoy protein anytime, anywhere, making it a choice among local consumers of all ages," said Ikeda Mio, CEO of Asahico. "We plan to further increase the sales proportion of Tofu Bar to over 30% of the total sales of Asahico through continuous development of new products tailored to local tastes and expansion of the product category."