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7 years ago

The Partnership no. 8

  • Text
  • Products
  • Lettuce
  • Partnership
  • Enza
  • Varieties
  • Vegetables
  • Zaden
  • Growers
  • Vegetable
  • Markets

Changing Korean

Changing Korean vegetable consumption Korea’s social structure has changed rapidly over the past decade. These changes have had an impact on vegetable and food consumption in Korea. Koreans traditionally had large families, but nowadays most people live alone or with two or three people only. Ten years ago, Korean mothers would buy fresh vegetables and raw produce from the market. Nowadays the trend is to eat out more and buy pre-prepared food. This led to a drop in consumption of agricultural products, making it necessary to identify new ways of presenting fresh products to the consumer. And so it was that fresh-cut and packaged vegetables arrived on the Korean market. Co-operation To implement this concept, Pulmuone is working very closely with Enza Zaden. Ms Sun-Hyang Kwon, Marketeer and Product Researcher at Pulmuone: “Enza Zaden is outstanding in lettuce breeding, and they have varieties that are excellent for the Korean market. After some trials and tests with this company we selected five varieties that suit our market preferences and growing conditions. These varieties were selected for their crispy taste, brix, leaf volume and good shape and because they are less susceptible to brown discoloration after cutting. They are also ideal for growing in a hot, humid climate.” Partnership Increased consumption of fresh vegetables In November 2013 Pulmuone launched two product lines with these varieties onto the Korean market. The It was this development that prompted Pulmuone to first line is French-style based on Eazyleaf® varieties. enter the packaged salad market. Pulmuone’s The second line is Italian-style and is based on marketing activities focused on promoting the Romaine lettuce varieties. consumption of raw vegetables. Four years ago it entered the babyleaf market and it is now expanding Challenge into the processed lettuce market as well. Mr Chung- Over the past few years, the big challenge facing Hyun Lee, Market Chain Manager and Product Pulmuone has been to integrate the Western style of Developer at Pulmuone: “Pulmuone’s recipe for eating raw vegetables into the oriental Korean dish success in the Korean salad market is to combine the style. Koreans traditionally eat their vegetables Western salad style with the Korean food style. This is fermented as a side dish. They are not used to eating producing a unique Korean packaged salad culture.” raw vegetables. That is why it has taken some time to The Korean salad style is very traditional, with wild introduce Western salad culture into Korean dishes. greens and predominantly fermented vegetables used “But people in Korea are getting more and more used in the traditional dish Kimchi. The Western salad style, to Western-style food, with the advent of dishes like on the other hand, uses many different kinds of raw spaghetti, pizza, steak and burgers. This trend is also vegetables, like lettuce, sweet pepper and tomato. By helping to increase salad consumption.” mixing these two styles together, Pulmuone has created a range of distinctive products for the Korean Mr Young Han, Area Manager Japan-Korea at market. Enza Zaden: “Pulmuone is very quick to respond to customer needs and is making efforts to expand the market and change the vegetable consumption culture.” Having started out as a vegetable retailer in Seoul in 1981, Pulmuone Co. Ltd. is now a representative food business and a pioneer in the development of authentic wholesome foods in Korea. The company produces perishable foods such as tofu and soybean sprouts and sells its products both within Korea and internationally. In order to expand the Korean market for processed salad, Pulmuone started working closely with Enza Zaden. This partnership has led to a successful line of lettuce varieties for packed salads that are now widely available throughout Korea. www.pulmuone.co.kr The Partnership | 13

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