From savouring fiery Buldak noodles to munching shrimp flavoured Nongshim chips, watching K-dramas, listening to K-pop, and using K-beauty products, the K-wave is captivating a growing number of teenagers in India.
“What young affluent India is adapting to and influenced by, is a direct downstream impact of the culture they are engaging with and the screens they are watching. From K-serials and K-pop, preferences have evolved to K-food, which has overtaken previous favourites like Japanese sushi,” Sandeep Goyal, chairman of ad agency Rediffusion. He said the surge in mainstream companies launching Korean packaged foods is a direct consequence of the increasing popularity of the number of restaurants serving Korean cuisine not only in metros but even smaller cities.
Last quarter, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sugar Cosmetics’ parent, Vellvette Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, formed a joint venture firm called Quench Botanics.
Indian Market for Korean Noodles
The company was set up to sell premium Korean beauty products, since “K beauty has taken over global skin care”, Sugar Cosmetics founder Vineeta Singh said at the time. “This is going to be a big opportunity in India as well,” Singh said, adding the JV has forecasted sales to touch Rs 100 crore in net revenue over the next 12 months.
Ecommerce platforms Nykaa and Reliance Retail-owned Tira are stocking more than 100 brands of Korean beauty brands to tap into the demand rush.
Amit Dutta, chief executive of premium grocery retailer Le Marche Retail, said sales of Korean noodles and snacks have doubled over last year. “While previously most of this demand was concentrated within the expat community, there has been significant offtake among Indian consumers since last year in our premium stores,” he said. He said the trend is also manifested with multiple Indian brands launching Korean variants. The India unit of packaged foods maker Nestle, which extended its mainstay Maggi brand to Korean BBQ noodles a couple of months back, has priced the noodles at more than twice that of the regular Maggi variants. “K-drama, K-pop and K-fashion are supposed to be the in-things. The challenge was to get the spice throw right and we believe we have. If the product gains more traction and adds more value, we will give consumers more…of course it’s not going to replace Maggi masala,” Nestle chairman Suresh Narayanan said at a media interaction last week.
An industry executive said, citing NielsenIQ data, that by value, the Indian market for Korean noodles soared to more than Rs 65 crore last year, from just Rs 2 crore in 2021. In comparison, instant noodles grew 10% though on a much larger base.
“What is working is taste novelty, yet base level similarities with Indian cuisine, which we believe is the reason why Korean orders are doing very well in ecommerce. Also, most youngsters and Gen Z are influenced by YouTube and K-pop, so their willingness to try out Korean foods stands out,” said Saurabh Saith, managing director of Korean snacks company Orion, which makes Choco Pie and Turtle chips.
He said the company is expanding capacity and is in the process of launching K-snacks, to differentiate from the regular salty snacks in India. Hindustan Unilever’s Knorr Korean meal pots, Top Ramen’s Geki K-noodles and Moi Soi noodles and sauces are among the brands gaining traction on store shelves.
A report by market researcher IMARC Group has forecasted the Indian snacks market to reach Rs 95,521.8 crore in sales by 2032, more than doubling from the current Rs 42,694.9 crore. The report attributed the surge to increasing popularity of convenient foods, stronger implementation of quality standards by food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), direct-to-consumer brands, and ecommerce platforms enabling higher reach and distribution channels.
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