Hanumul Food (CEO Jo Suk-hee) announced that it will participate in “DRINK SEOUL 2024,” which will be held at COEX in Seoul from April 11th (Thursday) to 13th (Saturday).
Hanumul Food is a company that produces traditional Korean food, Bugak (Korean fried seaweed chip), reinterpreted with a young sensibility. They research and develop products that approach consumers more familiarly, such as snacks and drinking snacks, by adding new seasoning flavors to traditional Bugaks.
Korean seaweed has led the K-FOOD trend worldwide, and Hanumul Food utilizes this trend to create Bugak snacks. The company explained that they had developed sweet Bugak and wasabi Bugak, reinterpreting the somewhat bland Bugak to captivate the tastes of foreigners. They have succeeded in selling out at domestic and international exhibitions.
Kim Bugak Gigamakyeo (Roughly translates to ‘Kim Bugak is Amazing’) by Hanumul Food, which targets women in their 20s to 40s or enthusiasts who enjoy beer, can be used for various purposes, such as rice side dishes, healthy snacks, cookie substitutes, and drinking snacks. It can be stored at room temperature for up to a year, and it is easy to enjoy lightly as a drinking snack without being overly stimulating. Additionally, it is suitable for pairing with wine and other foods (cheese, yukhoe, canapés, etc.). With aluminum packaging, there are no worries about oil spoilage, and it is easy to keep it crispy even if there are leftovers in the zipper pack pouch.
Currently, Hanumul Food’s Bugak is supplied as drinking snacks to various liquor companies in Korea and is also provided to automated ice cream vending machines in the Gyeongsang region. They also communicate directly with consumers through pop-up stores at domestic department stores. Exports are underway to three countries, starting with Vietnam, and sample testing is currently underway in Australia and China. They are planning to expand to the US and Japanese markets in the future. They plan to launch new flavors tailored to the preferences of Americans. Furthermore, through entry into the Japanese market, where there is already a high preference for seaweed, they aim to increase the recognition of ‘Bugak’ rather than the traditional seaweed currently handled in Japan.
Hanumul Food stated, “We aim to spread Bugak, which was traditionally considered a side dish, as snacks or drinking snacks, and support its transition into various products that can be paired with various liquors. We plan to share snack recipes using Bugak at this exhibition. Accordingly, we will bring freshness to the domestic liquor market and export Bugak, which uses seaweed, a main player in the K-FOOD trend, to overseas markets.” The company further revealed, “We plan to launch a new Bugak brand with a slightly younger sensibility. In addition to developing new flavors consumers can enjoy, we strive to improve the product process to make it healthier.”
DRINK SEOUL provides a convenient opportunity to meet various liquor and beverage industries, such as premium traditional liquors, wines, distilled liquors, and non-alcoholic beverages, all in one place. During the exhibition period, KIBEX (Korea Beer Expo), KIBA (Korea International Beer Expo), and KIBCON (Korea International Beer Conference) are being held simultaneously. In addition, various events such as B2B (1:1 business matching program), royal court liquor brewing competitions, and traditional liquor sommelier competitions are held as side events.