Korean food giants pitch K-cuisine to Japanese fans at KCON 2026

SEOUL, May 11 (AJP) - South Korea's two largest packaged-food exporters turned a K-pop convention in Japan's Chiba into a showcase for Korean cuisine over the weekend, as CJ CheilJedang and Samyang Foods drew long lines at branded experience booths during KCON Japan 2026.

The three-day festival, held at Makuhari Messe from May 8 to 10, gave both companies a stage to court Japanese consumers, a market they have flagged as central to their global expansion plans, the companies said on Monday.

CJ CheilJedang operated a Bibigo booth themed around K-pop boy group ZeroBaseOne under the slogan "Happy Bibigo day," anchored by an oversized cake display at the entrance. The company served about 20,000 servings of dumplings and its Micho vinegar drink from a food truck that drew queues throughout the festival.

Samyang Foods, maker of the Buldak spicy noodle brand, recreated a Han River convenience store inside its "Buldak Mart" booth. The company pre-released "Sweecy Buldak," a milder sweet-and-spicy variant set to launch in Japan this summer, and sampled its four-cheese Buldak potato chips.
  The push comes as both firms double down on Japan. CJ CheilJedang completed a dumpling factory in Kisarazu, Chiba last September after investing about 100 billion won ($68 million), and its new Bibigo Mandu Gyoza product booked first-month sales of about 700 million won after a March launch.

Bibigo dumplings crossed 10 percent market share in Japan in March for the first time, and CJ products are now sold at roughly 40,000 retail outlets including AEON, Costco, Amazon, Rakuten and Don Quijote, the company said.

"KCON Japan is a flagship event where Japanese consumers can experience K-food alongside K-culture," said a Samyang Foods official, adding that the company would keep expanding consumer touchpoints through differentiated content and experiential marketing.

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.