They are betting on Koreans’ taste for the exclusive and the exquisite — and their willingness to pay more for a place at that table.
At Food Experience Korea, organized by Business France in Seoul on Monday, producers offered different answers to the same question –
why good ingredient is worth an extra buck.
Korea has already shown a hearty appetite for French daily.
Its imports of butter and other milk-derived fats and oils reached $269.8 million in 2025, up 49.6 percent from a year earlier, according to UN Comtrade data available through the World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution. Import volume rose 32.0 percent to about 29,967 metric tons.
France supplied $96.5 million, the largest share by value, with New Zealand close behind at $94.9 million. French shipments grew strongly, although the country’s market share slipped to 35.8 percent from 37.9 percent as competitors expanded faster.
The figures cover more than premium butter. Still, they show a growing appetite — and plenty of competition for a place in the refrigerator.
Sodiaal Dairy International sees its opening in the bakery.
Solyi Lim, a trade marketing manager, acknowledged the strength of Korean dairy producers such as Seoul Milk and Maeil. But cream and butter offer room for French suppliers.
“We still see potential in cream and butter,” Lim told AJP.
Lim pointed to Korean bakers’ use of French ingredients and described butter that enriches the food around it without leaving the finished product excessively heavy.
It is a pitch a baker can put to work: richness without heaviness, an ingredient that earns its keep in the finished pastry. Consumers need not change their usual dairy brand to encounter it. They may simply order dessert.
For Lee Je-gon, a director representing Les Sels de Gruissan, the case for paying more comes down to a pinch of salt.
His company’s premium salt is harvested by hand during a season lasting about three months. The short window and the labor involved, he said, are part of what customers are buying.
“There is a reason the price is high,” he said. “We work with that pride.”
Lee knows that Guérande is a familiar name among Korean buyers of French salt. He is confident Gruissan can compete.
The company says its salt is used at more than 10 Michelin-starred restaurants. That is a useful calling card, although even illustrious kitchen credentials leave a supplier with something to prove: whether the difference on the plate justifies the difference on the bill.
Judith Moog of BIO PLANÈTE would like buyers to spend less time studying oil as if it belonged in a medicine cabinet.
“Olive oil is not medicine,” she said.
Korean customers often focus on numerical specifications when assessing oils, Moog said. She would rather talk about flavor — how an oil works with other ingredients and what makes someone reach for it when preparing a meal.
The business, which already distributes in Korea, traces its origins to 1984. Its range extends beyond olive oil to organic oils made from seeds, fruits and nuts.
Moog described citrus flavors and combinations involving balsamic vinegar as ways to give those oils a distinctive place in the kitchen.
Her invitation is straightforward: bring the conversation back to dinner.
For Elodie Bar, chief executive of So’Boutargue, the first task is getting an unfamiliar delicacy onto the plate.
Bottarga, or cured fish roe, may not immediately look appetizing to a newcomer, she acknowledged. So she begins with serving suggestions: alongside bread, in small appetizers or added to pasta.
The company uses wild mullet roe as the base for varieties flavored with truffle, mandarin and harissa, a North African chili paste.
Bar sees the spicy version as a possible introduction for Korean customers. A familiar kick of heat could help make the unfamiliar ingredient less daunting.
She suggested about 15 euros per 100 grams when discussing a possible Korean launch, although a local retail price has yet to be established.
Selling it will take more than an attractive spot on a shelf. Buyers need to know how much to use, what to serve it with and how to turn a first experiment into something they want to eat again.
The market is large enough to encourage such efforts.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report put Korean retail food sales at $132 billion in 2024 and imports of consumer-oriented agricultural products at $20.6 billion. Those totals include everyday groceries as well as expensive specialties, rather than measuring a separate premium market.
The visiting producers are looking for different customers within it. Butter and cream can become routine bakery purchases. Flavored oils and bottarga need a place in a cook’s repertoire. A limited wine collection calls for a buyer looking for something beyond the everyday bottle.
Sophie and Clément Demarquet of Maison Ori hope to find that customer in Korea.
The couple came seeking an importer after hearing about the country’s wine scene and buyers willing to spend on distinctive products.
Their production is limited, they said, and the bottle deserves attention of its own.
Each takes about two hours of handwork. Their first collection draws inspiration from the sea and their surroundings in southern France.
After the last glass, the bottle can remain as a decorative object or become a vase. The flowers, in other words, can arrive after the wine.
The Demarquets still need a local partner to test whether that proposition will sell. For now, their enthusiasm is an appetite for the market rather than proof of demand.
Across the offerings, France’s culinary reputation provides an introduction. What follows is a more intimate negotiation between the product, the palate and the purse.
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