Korea Agro-fisheries and Food Trade Corp. Helps Buyers Diversify 6/7/2016
Retailers are looking to differentiate themselves now more than ever. To do this many are looking to international manufacturers to help diversify their product offering. At the upcoming International Foods Efficient Program Planning Session (EPPS) the Korea Agro-fisheries and Food Trade Corporation is bringing in three Korean manufacturers and an additional three manufacturers to attend the Snack, Beverage & Grocery EPPS.
We sat down with a representative from Korea Agro-fisheries and Food Trade Corporation to learn more about the advantages of doing business with Korean manufacturers.
Describe your company and the goals of the services you offer.
Korea Agro-fisheries and Food Trade Corporation is a government agency with the main goal of expanding export of the Korean food items throughout the world. We have 12 oversea offices, and 2 are in the United States with the main mission of promoting Korean food items to the US consumers. We provide marketing support to the exporters in Korea as well as the importers of Korean food in the US.
What are some advantages of US retailers sourcing from Korea compared to other countries?
Most of Korea’s food sanitary regulations are compatible with US regulations and the food industry obtains various certification such as HACCP, ISO, and USDA organics. Compared to other food items sourced from different regions, Korea’s food safety system is reliable; therefore, trustworthy to the consumers. Furthermore, Korea is already well known for its quality within other Asian countries.
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Sea’s Gift brand and Jayone brand Seaweed Snacks are market leader in the seaweed snack category. Sea’s Gift brand is a premium brand for natural and upscale markets such as WholeFoods Market, Fresh & Easy, Wegman, Raley’s, and Safeway. Jayone brand is for conventional and club stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club and Asian markets (Chinese, Phillipnese, Vietnamese etc.). Also, Jayone brand Coffee & Tea and Rice snack (Original, Cinnamon flavor), other various snacks and Ajumma Republic brand Sauces are available for Int'l set Items available.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Sea’s Gift seaweed snack has 3 flavors of roasted, sweet, and wasabi. Also USDA organic version is available. It is not only for snack but also can be consumed as several ways. Perfect with rice to make sushi. Tasty addition to salad. Excellent topping on soups and pizza. We are a market leader which introduced seaweed snack in US market in 2004 for the first time. We keep high quality with competitive price. Also our facility in Korea has many certificate to provide the products for big chain stores.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
Introductory Promotion: Free Fill or Introductory Discounts for 3 Months - EDLP Pricing - Quarterly Discount Promotion - Demos - Ads on retailers' flyers
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
Get more distributions to American retailers - Develop international business networks for the distribution of Korean Grocery Items - Develop better relationship with buyers - Let retailers and distributors know about Korean Foods in general - Get more knowledge on Food Trends and Business nationally and internationally
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
We’ve been manufacturing Tofu and Fresh Noodles in S. CA since 1999. Also we are importing all kinds of Korean food items (around 900 SKUs) and distributing them nationwide in US. We’ve been doing business with all big food distributors such as KEHE, United Natural Foods, Sysco, and US Food Service. Also, we are directly providing the product to Costco, Sam’s, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, 99Ranch, Superior Grocers, Northgate, Seafood city, Island Pacific, SF Market and so on. We are very cautious on quality control and customer satisfaction. Jayone does qualify as minority owned. Our manufacturer in Korea is GFSI certified. We do have private label for several big chain stores.
Wang Globalnet / Samjin Globalnet
www.wangfood.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Aloe beverages, canned foods, dry greens, dry vegetables, mushrooms, soy bean flower, bread crumbs, powdered starches, flour, pepper powder, dried fish, seaweed, noodles, rice noodles, instant soups, teas, Udon noodles, flavored Korean crackers, Korean sauces and seasonings.
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
Samjin globalnet was founded in 1970 as an exporter of Korean traditional foods. Since we opened the first branch office in Chicago, we have established a worldwide network for food distribution. Now, we have global and many regional business partners all over the world. We deal in a wide variety of food items, which are manufactured and distributed under the strict and hygienic procedure such as ISO, HACCP, etc.
The Following Korean Companies are attending the Snack, Beverage & Grocery EPPS:
Haitai,Inc
www.haitaiusa.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Haitai confectionary & haitai processed product
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Well known Korean brand in Asia Choco cake -Individual packages, premium chocolate cake, low calories Crackers- Original, Salt, Almond, & Milk flavor, individual packages, low calories Choco kit- Kids make their own chocolate biscuit & play with stickers Ginseng chicken stew - chicken stew with Korean Ginseng.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
As the current trend in life-style of food culture is becoming more health conscious, Korean cuisine is becoming more appealing to the general public. With exposure through the media, our product would create a lot of attention in the mainstream market.
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
We want to let customers and buyers know the quality of our products compared to our competitors. We take pride in the products we develop and would like to introduce to the general American public that our products can be attained not just in Korean ethnic markets.
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
Haitai was established in 1981 and we are the one of the biggest Korean distributors in USA. We have 6 branch offices nationwide and we carry more than 2000 items including dry, frozen, deli, & organic goods. We have more than 1000 accounts nationwide including Asian, Hispanic, & American retailers. The meaning of "HAITAI" is a mythical unicorn-lion in Korea that is known as guidance against fire. This meaning signifies that this imaginary animal, "HAITAI", takes away all the bad luck in life and brings in the good fortune. "HAITAI" is also known to have a special ability of judging right or wrong. We believe that "HAITAI" will bring health and good luck to our consumers and will always be a symbol of straight values and righteousness.
Lotte int'l America Corp
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Brand: LOTTE - Choco Pie - Pepero - Custard - Kancho - Xylitol Gum - Milkis
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Our products are made in Korea and recognized more by Asians compared to other companies. We make and sell a wide variety of confectionery products. Our Beverage Company is now doing Pepsi & Del Monte bottling in Korea. LOTTE is the #1 confectionery and beverage company in Korea. We are striving to reach our goal of getting into Asia's Top Ten company.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
We focus on selling our products mostly to parents who have kids - We try our best to sell our products at an agreeable and beneficial price. We frequently demonstrate our products for the customers at store, so that they can personally try our best products. Now we're selling only at Asian markets, but our goal is to break into other ethnic markets as well.
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
Our objective is to meet new buyer and to expand our products to American & Hispanic markets.
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Confectionery & beverage import and distribution. Lotte's warehouse is located in Downtown, Los Angeles - Currently we are distributing our products to different Korean markets in Southern California from our warehouse for the other parts of the US, and our Korean distributors in other states receiving directly from Korea by containers.
Pocas International Corp.
www.okfamerica.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Aloe, pomegranate juice, tea, coffee raspberry, gojiberry, coconut, mango pineapple, lychee, all natural flavor drinks fruit jelly, honey ginger tea hot sauce, seasoned laver salsa sauce, nacho chips and nut products.
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Importer, exporter & marketing specialist of beverages and specialty foods.
Describe your company and the goals of the services you offer.
Korea Agro-fisheries and Food Trade Corporation is a government agency with the main goal of expanding export of the Korean food items throughout the world. We have 12 oversea offices, and 2 are in the United States with the main mission of promoting Korean food items to the US consumers. We provide marketing support to the exporters in Korea as well as the importers of Korean food in the US.
What are some advantages of US retailers sourcing from Korea compared to other countries?
Most of Korea’s food sanitary regulations are compatible with US regulations and the food industry obtains various certification such as HACCP, ISO, and USDA organics. Compared to other food items sourced from different regions, Korea’s food safety system is reliable; therefore, trustworthy to the consumers. Furthermore, Korea is already well known for its quality within other Asian countries.
How will doing business with Korean companies help to differentiate the retailer in the marketplace?
The unique and health conscious items such as seaweed snack, aloe drink, and rice snacks have already been successful in the US market. With Korea’s advanced manufacturing technology and long history of food culture, Korean food companies can provide new items that are not only tasteful and trendy but also adaptable to the US consumers. US consumers are more prone to ethnic food than ever, and Korean food is one of the rising stars in ethnic food category. By working with Korean food companies, retailers can easily target more diverse consumers and provide new experience to the existing consumers who are aware of the trendy items.
The unique and health conscious items such as seaweed snack, aloe drink, and rice snacks have already been successful in the US market. With Korea’s advanced manufacturing technology and long history of food culture, Korean food companies can provide new items that are not only tasteful and trendy but also adaptable to the US consumers. US consumers are more prone to ethnic food than ever, and Korean food is one of the rising stars in ethnic food category. By working with Korean food companies, retailers can easily target more diverse consumers and provide new experience to the existing consumers who are aware of the trendy items.
Ottogi America, Inc
www.ottogiamerica.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Sauce, spice and seasoning products; noodles, ramen, and dumplings; rice; canned tuna and seafoods
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Ottogi America, as a wide-ranging food distributor, has acquired top food technology and brand name from Ottogi Corporation to bring competitive products that will lead North and South America’s Korean Food Industry. We will rise as the leading Asian food company in the continent of America and become the cornerstone in globalizing our Ottogi Corporation to expand as a worldwide company.
Jayone Foods, Inc
www.jayone.com
www.ottogiamerica.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Sauce, spice and seasoning products; noodles, ramen, and dumplings; rice; canned tuna and seafoods
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Ottogi America, as a wide-ranging food distributor, has acquired top food technology and brand name from Ottogi Corporation to bring competitive products that will lead North and South America’s Korean Food Industry. We will rise as the leading Asian food company in the continent of America and become the cornerstone in globalizing our Ottogi Corporation to expand as a worldwide company.
Jayone Foods, Inc
www.jayone.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Sea’s Gift brand and Jayone brand Seaweed Snacks are market leader in the seaweed snack category. Sea’s Gift brand is a premium brand for natural and upscale markets such as WholeFoods Market, Fresh & Easy, Wegman, Raley’s, and Safeway. Jayone brand is for conventional and club stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club and Asian markets (Chinese, Phillipnese, Vietnamese etc.). Also, Jayone brand Coffee & Tea and Rice snack (Original, Cinnamon flavor), other various snacks and Ajumma Republic brand Sauces are available for Int'l set Items available.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Sea’s Gift seaweed snack has 3 flavors of roasted, sweet, and wasabi. Also USDA organic version is available. It is not only for snack but also can be consumed as several ways. Perfect with rice to make sushi. Tasty addition to salad. Excellent topping on soups and pizza. We are a market leader which introduced seaweed snack in US market in 2004 for the first time. We keep high quality with competitive price. Also our facility in Korea has many certificate to provide the products for big chain stores.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
Introductory Promotion: Free Fill or Introductory Discounts for 3 Months - EDLP Pricing - Quarterly Discount Promotion - Demos - Ads on retailers' flyers
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
Get more distributions to American retailers - Develop international business networks for the distribution of Korean Grocery Items - Develop better relationship with buyers - Let retailers and distributors know about Korean Foods in general - Get more knowledge on Food Trends and Business nationally and internationally
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
We’ve been manufacturing Tofu and Fresh Noodles in S. CA since 1999. Also we are importing all kinds of Korean food items (around 900 SKUs) and distributing them nationwide in US. We’ve been doing business with all big food distributors such as KEHE, United Natural Foods, Sysco, and US Food Service. Also, we are directly providing the product to Costco, Sam’s, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, 99Ranch, Superior Grocers, Northgate, Seafood city, Island Pacific, SF Market and so on. We are very cautious on quality control and customer satisfaction. Jayone does qualify as minority owned. Our manufacturer in Korea is GFSI certified. We do have private label for several big chain stores.
Wang Globalnet / Samjin Globalnet
www.wangfood.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Aloe beverages, canned foods, dry greens, dry vegetables, mushrooms, soy bean flower, bread crumbs, powdered starches, flour, pepper powder, dried fish, seaweed, noodles, rice noodles, instant soups, teas, Udon noodles, flavored Korean crackers, Korean sauces and seasonings.
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
Samjin globalnet was founded in 1970 as an exporter of Korean traditional foods. Since we opened the first branch office in Chicago, we have established a worldwide network for food distribution. Now, we have global and many regional business partners all over the world. We deal in a wide variety of food items, which are manufactured and distributed under the strict and hygienic procedure such as ISO, HACCP, etc.
The Following Korean Companies are attending the Snack, Beverage & Grocery EPPS:
Haitai,Inc
www.haitaiusa.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Haitai confectionary & haitai processed product
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Well known Korean brand in Asia Choco cake -Individual packages, premium chocolate cake, low calories Crackers- Original, Salt, Almond, & Milk flavor, individual packages, low calories Choco kit- Kids make their own chocolate biscuit & play with stickers Ginseng chicken stew - chicken stew with Korean Ginseng.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
As the current trend in life-style of food culture is becoming more health conscious, Korean cuisine is becoming more appealing to the general public. With exposure through the media, our product would create a lot of attention in the mainstream market.
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
We want to let customers and buyers know the quality of our products compared to our competitors. We take pride in the products we develop and would like to introduce to the general American public that our products can be attained not just in Korean ethnic markets.
COMPANY OVERVIEW: *This company qualifies as minority/woman owned
Haitai was established in 1981 and we are the one of the biggest Korean distributors in USA. We have 6 branch offices nationwide and we carry more than 2000 items including dry, frozen, deli, & organic goods. We have more than 1000 accounts nationwide including Asian, Hispanic, & American retailers. The meaning of "HAITAI" is a mythical unicorn-lion in Korea that is known as guidance against fire. This meaning signifies that this imaginary animal, "HAITAI", takes away all the bad luck in life and brings in the good fortune. "HAITAI" is also known to have a special ability of judging right or wrong. We believe that "HAITAI" will bring health and good luck to our consumers and will always be a symbol of straight values and righteousness.
Lotte int'l America Corp
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Brand: LOTTE - Choco Pie - Pepero - Custard - Kancho - Xylitol Gum - Milkis
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Our products are made in Korea and recognized more by Asians compared to other companies. We make and sell a wide variety of confectionery products. Our Beverage Company is now doing Pepsi & Del Monte bottling in Korea. LOTTE is the #1 confectionery and beverage company in Korea. We are striving to reach our goal of getting into Asia's Top Ten company.
MARKETING OVERVIEW:
We focus on selling our products mostly to parents who have kids - We try our best to sell our products at an agreeable and beneficial price. We frequently demonstrate our products for the customers at store, so that they can personally try our best products. Now we're selling only at Asian markets, but our goal is to break into other ethnic markets as well.
EVENT OBJECTIVES:
Our objective is to meet new buyer and to expand our products to American & Hispanic markets.
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Confectionery & beverage import and distribution. Lotte's warehouse is located in Downtown, Los Angeles - Currently we are distributing our products to different Korean markets in Southern California from our warehouse for the other parts of the US, and our Korean distributors in other states receiving directly from Korea by containers.
Pocas International Corp.
www.okfamerica.com
BRANDs / ITEMS BEING PRESENTED:
Aloe, pomegranate juice, tea, coffee raspberry, gojiberry, coconut, mango pineapple, lychee, all natural flavor drinks fruit jelly, honey ginger tea hot sauce, seasoned laver salsa sauce, nacho chips and nut products.
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Importer, exporter & marketing specialist of beverages and specialty foods.
