Nongshim’s newly appointed President-CEO Jo Yong-chul / Courtesy of Nongshim
Immediate noodle and snack large Nongshim named its new CEO on Friday.
The corporate mentioned it’s going to promote Jo Yong-chul, vice chairman of the corporate’s gross sales division, because the president and CEO, efficient Dec. 1. His promotion will likely be finalized after a shareholder assembly in March subsequent yr.
Jo’s appointment has largely been attributed by his latest expertise in increasing Nongshim’s world markets. Earlier this yr, he was promoted to the gross sales division’s high place and started main duties for Nongshim’s promotion abroad.
Jo is now anticipated to additional enhance Nongshim’s shares in world prompt noodle and snack markets and safe the corporate’s market presence worldwide. The corporate’s exports this yr accounted for 40 p.c of its total gross sales, centering on its bestseller Shin Ramyun. The determine is decrease than Samyang Meals, one other main prompt noodle firm right here, which has seen this yr 84 p.c of its total gross sales come from its world markets, due to the worldwide recognition of its prompt noodles model, Buldak.
“Jo is a worldwide market knowledgeable with wealthy experiences, having acquired eager senses as to an organization’s area operations abroad,” Nongshim mentioned in an announcement. “Appointing Jo was our choice to reply to the fast-paced shift amongst world meals traits and put together a sustainable basis for the corporate’s future development in parallel with world requirements.”
Nongshim, based in 1965, has lengthy dominated the nation’s home prompt noodle market and is presently pursuing its promotion globally. On Wednesday, it appointed Okay-pop lady group aespa as its world ambassador to advertise the corporate’s prompt noodle merchandise.
With the catchphrase “Spicy Happiness in Noodles,” the lady group’s worldwide fandom is predicted to hold the model by means of its world excursions, the corporate mentioned. In 2023, aespa launched the hit music “Spicy” beneath its third mini album, garnering 170 million views on YouTube with its official music video.
Nongshim can also be persevering with to leverage model recognition gained by means of the wildly standard Netflix animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” which featured prompt noodles, snacks and different merchandise that resembled Nongshim’s merchandise and generated large buzz. The corporate final month partnered with Netflix and collaborated on merchandise that includes characters from the movie, selling the efforts on large digital screens at New York Metropolis’s Instances Sq..
In Japan, native information outlet Nikkei Stylish earlier this month chosen Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun Toomba taste among the many nation’s high 30 hit merchandise of the yr. Nongshim mentioned it was the primary time a Korean prompt noodle model was chosen for the chart, demonstrating Nongshim’s world model energy within the Japanese market.
