- Expanding local consumer contacts with North America's "On- and Off-line Distribution Network" and "B2C Promotion" "Find the Next Frozen Kimbab", K-Food Pop-up Store in North America
KOTRA opened the "SEOUL FOOD in NY Pop-up Store" in New York, USA, for two days starting from the 17th of this month to support the entry of Korean food companies into the North American export market.
This event is designed to introduce Korean food to New York, the world leader in food culture, as an exhibition promotion project to promote K-food companies, including those participating in the Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition (SEOUL FOOD), Asia's four largest F&B exhibitions.
Recently, "Frozen Gimbap," designed and sold by Trader Joe's, a major U.S. retail chain, has been so successful that it has run out of stock due to SNS marketing. With Gimbap emerging as a new export product of K-FOOD, many food exporters are dreaming of success in the North American market.
KOTRA also introduced a pop-up store business that supports local online and offline distribution networks and B2C promotions for practical growth, such as increasing brand awareness and expanding sales of "K-FOOD" exporters with the popularity of Korean food in North America.
The pop-up store, located directly across from Union Square, where a large floating population is concentrated in New York, received great attention from local consumers in New York, with more than 1,000 people visiting during the event.
In particular, Fence Mall and Kim's Market, local distribution platforms specializing in K-FOOD, collaborated on this pop-up store to showcase various Korean food products for two days and hold on-site tasting events.
The New York-based non-profit organization Korea Artists Association (KANA) also participated in the event. KANA's Korean chefs, who graduated from the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America and work at famous restaurants in New York, held a cooking event. It attracted the attention of many visitors by showcasing Korean and modern foods with recipes created by the chefs themselves using various Korean foods on display.
It also sought to promote online-based K-FOOD brands through SNS marketing using influencers to target the alpha generation, a new consumer base in the North American market. Woo Jin-sol, an influencer with more than 247,000 followers, said, "Through this pop-up store, we were able to introduce various K-FOODs to New York," adding, "Many followers and influencers who like Korean food and culture also showed interest in this pop-up event."
"Now is the right time to enter the North American food market, where Korea's interest in food culture is higher than ever," said Park Sung-ho, head of KOTRA's North American regional division. "We will help more Korean exporters promote their brands and products there and expand their export channels."
