November 24, 2024
Retail & Consumer
SPAM cumulative sales hit 1 billion cans in Korea
[THE INVESTOR] CJ CheilJedang, Korea’s biggest food company under CJ Group, said on Sept. 12 that almost 1 billion cans of SPAM -- its canned pork brand -- have been sold in Korea over the past 30 years with accumulative sales of 3.5 trillion won (US$3.10 billion).
CJ, which started local sales of SPAM in 1987, has been dominating the canned meat market. Currently, its market share stands at more than 50 percent.
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The product’s success can be attributed to CJ’s efforts to alter perceptions by raising quality to a premium level, as it was initially viewed as a cheaper alternative to expensive brands.
“We used to produce SPAM through a partnership with the original producer Hormel of the US but now our own strict quality control has become a role model for SPAM production overall,” said a CJ official.
CJ said it plans to make SPAM into a 400 billion won brand by 2020.
By Alex Lee (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)
