CJ CheilJedang to open $72 million dumpling plant in Japan

South Korea’s largest food company, CJ CheilJedang Corp., is shifting into high gear in its global expansion with a 100 billion won ($72 million) investment in a new frozen dumpling plant in Japan, about six months after announcing new plant addition plans in Europe and the US.

The company on Thursday announced that the new facility, located in Chiba Prefecture, will be the food giant’s fifth food-manufacturing plant in Japan and is slated to begin mass production in September.  

Spanning 42,000 square meters – roughly the size of six football fields – the new factory will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology to meet rising demand for Korean cuisine in the country, the company said.

The Korean food company has operated four plants in Japan since acquiring their previous owner, Osaka-based frozen food manufacturer Gyoza Keikaku, in 2019.

With the addition of a fifth plant, CJ CheilJedang is poised to ignite new growth momentum in Japan, which has been swept by a new-generation Korean wave sparked by Korean pop music and sustained by Korean TV shows, food and other cultural exports, the company said.

“We must take a bold step to become a ‘global leading company’ by accelerating localization and expanding our global infrastructure to enhance competitiveness,” CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun said earlier this year during his first overseas business trip for this year to Japan.

Currently, CJ CheilJedang sells frozen dumplings, frozen Korean seaweed rice rolls, kimbap, and Korean sauce products under the Bibigo brand in Japan through online and offline retailers, including AEON, Costco, Amazon.com and Rakuten.

In particular, Japan’s frozen dumpling market is estimated at 1.1 trillion won, presenting a great growth opportunity for the Korean food giant, it said.

UNDAUNTED GLOBAL AMBITIONS 

The announcement of the new plant in Japan came about half a year after it unveiled a plan to build new food-manufacturing plants in Europe and the US, with an investment of $584 million to meet burgeoning demand for its frozen dumplings in these regions in line with the growing popularity of Korean food.

With aggressive investments in the expansion of its food manufacturing capabilities, CJ CheilJedang is making bold bets on global growth in its food business.

Its food product sales in overseas markets rose to 5.58 trillion won in 2024 from 3.15 trillion won in 2019, marking a 77% growth rate over the past five years, according to the company.

Its offshore food sales accounted for 49.2% of its total food sales last year, up from 39% in 2019.

Europe and the US played a key role in expanding its global food sales, with its food sales in the US making up more than 80% of CJ CheilJedang’s entire overseas sales.

The company currently operates 20 food manufacturing factories in the US, including those run by Schwan’s, the leading US food company acquired by CJ in 2019.

It purchased frozen-food producer Mainfrost Foods in Germany in 2018 and set up entities in France and Hungary last year.

It also runs food factories in other countries such as China, Vietnam and Australia.

Write to Jong-Seo Park at cosmos@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.