By blending Western flavors with Korean culinary precision, Sun-in crafts uniquely refined food ingredients.
The Korean food industry faces significant pressure to export, given demographic challenges and other factors. At the same time, Korea’s soft power—ranked first globally this year—creates new opportunities for food companies to expand beyond traditional markets like Asia. Since your company does not produce traditional Korean food, how do you plan to leverage this trend?
Let me give you an example. We produce custard cream, which is traditionally a Western food. However, even though we produce a Western product, our custard cream has a distinctly Korean flavor profile. If you taste custard cream in France, the U.S., or Korea, they all share the same name but taste completely different. In Korea, custard cream is uniquely "Koreanized."
By this, I mean that Koreans have an exceptionally refined palate. In Western countries, products tend to be distinctly salty or sweet. For instance, some breads are overly sweet, and some snacks are very salty. In contrast, Korean products—be it potato chips or bread—strike a more balanced flavor. Take Pyeongyang cold noodles as an example; their neutral taste highlights the Korean ability to appreciate subtle flavor differences. This ability stems from years of culinary tradition and experience.
When we develop new products, they start with this "Koreanized" flavor profile. Yet, when we introduce them to Western markets, they are also well-received. For instance, a Swiss chef visited our company and tasted our custard cream. He was astonished, saying it tasted like artisanal custard despite being mass-produced in a factory. Our goal is to create industrialized products with the taste and quality of artisanal craftsmanship.
This philosophy extends to all our Western-style foods. Whether it’s walnut pie or pecan pie, the name might be the same, but the taste is uniquely ours. We refine our products by eliminating off-flavors that even European consumers might not consciously detect. Take our lemon curd, for example—a classic in British cuisine. British consumers often prefer our version over their own because we removed the metallic "iron" taste often found in traditional lemon curds. This attention to detail sets our products apart on the global stage.
Your approach is impressive, but isn’t there a challenge in overcoming stereotypes? While your factory-produced products have artisanal qualities, they might not be perceived as such in Europe or the U.S. Additionally, the broader Asian food industry sometimes carries negative connotations among Western consumers. How do you address these issues and convince consumers to try your products?
This is indeed a challenge, especially in Europe and America, where we still face lingering stereotypes. However, our reputation in regions like Southeast Asia and Africa is much stronger. In these markets, "Made in Korea" is synonymous with high-quality products.
In Western markets, we often face skepticism about our Western-style products. However, once consumers taste them, their perceptions change. Overcoming these stereotypes requires persistence and quality. In the long run, we plan to localize production in Europe and the U.S., which will address both image and cost concerns. Localization allows us to cut freight costs and adapt better to local consumer expectations. For example, exporting ready-made products from Korea to Europe currently costs about 0.2 to 0.5 euros per kilogram due to expensive temperature-controlled containers.
We also plan to establish a factory in the Middle East. This strategic location offers several advantages. First, it allows us to tap into free trade agreements with countries like India, Pakistan, and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations. For instance, we were the leading brand in Pakistan until 2019, when a 30% import duty made exports unfeasible. By producing in the Middle East, we can re-enter markets like Pakistan without high tariffs and reduce freight costs significantly. Shipping from Korea to Africa costs about 6,000 euros and involves detours to avoid Somali pirate activity. From the Middle East, freight costs are more than halved.
Moreover, Middle Eastern production will enable us to expand into nearby regions, including Africa. These markets already appreciate the quality and functionality of our products, which are on par with European and American offerings. Our two-step strategy—setting up factories in emerging markets and then localizing production in Europe and the U.S.—is designed to eliminate negative perceptions and solidify our global presence.
There is often a necessity to glocalize and brand products to better fit specific regions. How do you adapt to different countries? Could you provide an example of some of your products or a specific product that you have tailored to a particular region?
For native Korean food, such as Buldak, using Korean chili peppers is essential. Korean chili has a unique spiciness compared to Mexican, Vietnamese, Italian, or Chilean peppers, making it challenging to glocalize native Korean dishes in Western countries. However, this isn’t an issue for my products. We don’t rely on natural or agricultural resources that are exclusive to Korea. For example, we import wheat and sugar since Korea doesn’t produce these in significant quantities. While sugar is refined in Korea, there are no sugar farms here, and the production of Korean wheat is minimal.
This means that most of the ingredients we use are imported and processed in Korea. When localizing production to the Middle East, Europe, or other regions, we continue to use the same imported ingredients. Ingredient-wise, there’s no issue with glocalization because the raw materials remain consistent regardless of the production location.
What about adapting the taste, texture, or overall presentation of the product? You’ve mentioned that Koreans have a heightened ability to detect certain flavors, which might not apply to people in Africa or the Middle East. Do you modify your products to suit these regional preferences?
Not really. Once we complete developing a product with specific functionality or flavor, we often find that it appeals universally. For example, when we developed our lemon custard, we discovered that international customers also enjoyed it. Even though it’s a Western-style product, the Korean interpretation of the taste seems to have universal appeal. Therefore, we generally don’t adapt our products significantly for different regions.
However, some regional preferences do lead to slight variations. For instance, some countries prefer a stronger vanilla flavor. In such cases, we create two versions of the same product: one with a strong vanilla flavor and one standard version. While Korean consumers tend to dislike strong vanilla, Malaysian consumers favor it. Similarly, Taiwanese consumers prefer a milky flavor, so we enhance the condensed milk flavor in products exported to Taiwan. These are minor adjustments to flavor intensity, but the fundamental framework of the product remains unchanged.
You mentioned that your customers from different regions try your products. Are you referring more to general consumers or professionals like bakers and restaurant chefs?
Our clients are not end consumers. Our clients are chefs in restaurants, bakeries, and culinary professionals. We focus on meeting the preferences of chefs because they are the decision-makers, not the general public.
I used to have a good friend who worked as a pâtissier. Sourcing products was always a challenge because they would try different options, but many didn’t meet their needs. How do you convince chefs to try your products, and how do you collaborate with them?
When we develop a new product, we create several sample variations and provide them to our clients. We then gather their feedback to understand their preferences. There is a refinement process that occurs before finalizing the product. This intermediate stage allows us to adjust the taste and functionality. Typically, it takes about two years to complete the entire development process, during which we go through multiple modifications to ensure we meet our target.
Could you share an example of working with a famous chef or restaurant that you are particularly proud of?
In Korea, there is a renowned baker named Yong Joo Park, who won the Coupe du Monde de Boulangerie in France. He owns a bakery in Chungju called Vanuatu, named after an independent country in the South Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea, known for its high happiness index. Currently, we are collaborating with him to develop an apple filling. He requested a very high percentage of diced apple in the filling, so we created a product based on his specifications. However, he wanted a stronger cinnamon flavor, so we revised the sample accordingly. We are still in the process of refining this product.
Established in 1987, Sun-in has grown into a specialized food raw material manufacturer and processing company. The company has led the Korean bakery and pastry ingredient market, serving more than 18,000 franchise and industrial clients. Could you walk us through Sun-in’s history and vision?
Most CEOs in this field come from a business management background, but I come from the technical side. I majored in food technology in college, and after graduation, I worked in the industrial bakery sector for four years. While I may not excel in traditional company management, my strength lies in developing innovative, distinct products that capture new opportunities for the future.
Are you involved in the product tasting process? Do you still oversee it personally?
Yes, I actively contribute ideas to my R&D team, who then work on development. We have regular discussions on how to improve the product and finalize its direction. About 50% of my role involves recruiting new staff, as having the right people is crucial for progress. If you have talented and motivated individuals, they can perform exceptionally without much supervision. My primary focus is finding such people.
I also believe that morality is essential in business. Corruption in Korea used to be a significant issue 30 years ago, but now it’s a much cleaner country. We no longer need to entertain clients to secure business. However, 25 years ago, as a B2B company, we had to engage in activities like playing golf or dining with clients. We decided to stop all such practices, even something as simple as having dinner with clients. This shift brought challenges, as clients often preferred giving easy jobs to companies that entertained them. For us, this meant being assigned the most complicated and nearly impossible tasks.
Basil pesto
Looking back, these challenges allowed us to identify and focus on untapped opportunities—what I call the “blue ocean”. Today, many of our products are unique in Korea, primarily because they are difficult to produce. For instance, our basil pesto stands out. If you buy basil pesto from Costco or E-Mart, you’ll find it in an amber-green color. However, our pesto retains a bright green hue. This is because basil oxidizes quickly at high temperatures. We mix and package our basil pesto at -3°C to -1°C. While others know this method, they avoid it because the high viscosity at such low temperatures makes packaging difficult. Conventional machines work easily at 8°C, but we invested over a year to develop a semi-automated process for low-temperature packaging. Now, after 10 years, technology has advanced, and we’ve invested $2 million to fully automate the process. Today, our basil pesto holds a 90% market share in Korea. Initially, basil pesto was not widely known, but now it’s hugely popular among younger generations.
How do you see the food industry evolving, and how does Sun-in adapt?
The food industry is undergoing significant diversification. When I started 30 years ago, Koreans across cities and regions ate very similar foods. Now, tastes have diversified. For example, there is no single tomato sauce that appeals to everyone. Some people prefer a strong oregano flavor, others like a saltier tomato sauce, and some want more fish sauce added. This diversification of taste means that producing a universally liked product, like Coca-Cola, is an illusion.
To adapt, food processors must embrace the idea of creating diverse products to cater to different preferences. Production flexibility is key. In the U.S., mass production works well, but in Korea and even globally, it’s less effective due to the demand for varied products. At Sun-in, we focus on producing multiple types of products in small quantities. For instance, if we have a production line with a five-ton daily capacity, rather than expanding it to 10 or 20 tons, we add another line with the same five-ton capacity. While a single large production line offers efficiency, it sacrifices flexibility, which is crucial in today’s market. Many companies make the mistake of prioritizing productivity over adaptability, but we’ve learned that flexibility is essential for meeting diverse consumer demands.
Korea's HACCP standards and the government’s push for higher standards, incorporating technologies like AI and automation, aim to improve quality, safety, and efficiency in the food and beverage industry. How has your company innovated in production capabilities to ensure safer, high-quality products while maintaining flexibility and cost efficiency?
Achieving high efficiency while maintaining flexibility is challenging, but it’s a trade-off we embrace. For example, in Korea, large carbonated drink producers like Coca-Cola or Lotte typically have a minimum daily production capacity of 200,000 bottles. This setup is optimized for mass production, but it lacks flexibility.
In contrast, our carbonated drink production line has a capacity of just 10,000 bottles per day. While this significantly lowers productivity and increases costs, we overcome this by targeting a niche market. Instead of using plastic or cans, we package our beverages in premium glass bottles, which appeal to high-end markets. This allows us to sell at higher prices.
For instance, we produce carbonated drinks for Muji, a Japanese brand that isn't primarily a food producer. Muji’s demand is small—around 10,000 bottles per flavor—but they require up to 10 different flavors, amounting to 100,000 bottles in total. Our ability to produce smaller batches with diverse options aligns perfectly with their needs. This niche strategy differentiates us from mass producers like Coca-Cola, which cannot accommodate such small-scale, diversified production.
Our success in this niche market has reached full capacity, so we plan to establish a second carbonated drink production line in Jeju Island next year. Despite our small-scale operations, the premium market for unique flavors and smaller quantities, like Muji’s, is growing. It’s a space where we excel and continue to expand.
You’ve expressed aspirations to expand overseas. Among your diverse product offerings, which do you consider the most attractive to international clients?
Our first export product was non-dairy whipping cream, which remains a flagship offering. We also produce a wide variety of creams, and compared to American or European brands that dominate the bread and cake mix sectors, our products consistently receive positive feedback for their taste and quality.
Another standout product is our semi-dried fruit, a proprietary innovation we developed 20 years ago. Positioned between dried and frozen fruit, semi-dried fruit retains natural juices, offering a richer flavor profile. For example, while dried cranberries in salads are chewy, our semi-dried cranberries are crunchy, vibrant in color, and cost-effective. This unique product combines convenience and superior taste, making it a popular choice.
The third key product is our premixes, which are versatile and highly regarded by clients.
Looking ahead, we aim to establish overseas production facilities for these three products: non-dairy whipping cream, semi-dried fruits, and premixes. This aligns with our expansion plans, particularly in the Middle East. We’re currently in discussions to finalize a production facility in Qatar or the UAE, with plans to conclude negotiations by next spring. Beyond the Middle East, we’re targeting South America as our next step, followed by Europe or North America. The expansion is progressing steadily, and we’re confident in the global appeal of our innovative products.
What new developments are you currently working on?
For the past five to six years, we’ve been focused on developing ready-made meals (RMR), such as ready-to-bake, ready-to-prepare, ready-to-heat, and ready-to-cook options. These products are designed primarily for B2B customers rather than B2C consumers. By definition, RMR products require some preparation—whether it’s heating, adding flavors, or sauces—before they’re ready to serve.
Our aim is to minimize the labor required in commercial kitchens, as recruitment in this sector has become increasingly challenging. This is a significant benefit for restaurant owners. However, I want to emphasize that we’re not aiming to create standardized, ready-to-eat final products. Doing so would lead to uniform menus across establishments, stifling culinary diversity.
Instead, our goal is to simplify the lengthy cooking processes while still allowing chefs to customize their dishes with different vegetables, sauces, and flavors. Unlike B2C products, where consumers can eat the product directly after opening, our RMR solutions require additional steps to complete the final dish.
Over the years, we’ve developed a wide range of ready-made meal products, and next year, we plan to set up an industrial sous-vide production line in Korea. Sous-vide technology is a cornerstone of ready-made meal production, offering both consistency and quality.
You also have an online platform for purchasing your products. Could you tell us more about it? Is it available globally or only in Korea?
We launched our platform about two and a half years ago, integrating 150 suppliers to create a vertically connected system. In today’s globalized world, everyone has access to the internet, which has leveled the playing field. No producer holds a monopoly on quality because poor-quality products are quickly phased out.
In this competitive environment, the key differentiator is optimizing last-mile delivery to reduce logistics costs. Production costs are largely uniform across the industry, so the focus must shift to logistics efficiency. For example, when supplying small cafés, delivering multiple SKUs simultaneously is critical to profitability. Delivering just one product per trip would result in a negative margin, making it unfeasible.
Unlike markets such as the U.S., where cash-and-carry models like Metro and Sysco are prominent, Korea operates on a cash-on-delivery basis. While Metro exited Korea and Sysco chose not to enter, Costco has been successful, primarily due to its focus on B2B sales.
Recognizing this unique market dynamic, we created an online ordering platform that stands out globally. One distinctive feature of our system is that customers can view the exact expiry dates of products before placing an order. This was a response to frequent client inquiries about product shelf life. We developed this capability seven years ago, and it remains unmatched in the global food service sector. Clients have responded enthusiastically to this level of transparency.
Our platform operates on a stock-based model rather than a procurement-based one. This means we maintain inventory in our warehouse, allowing us to fulfill orders immediately without delays. To support this, we’ve built a logistics facility near Daegu with a capacity for 40,000 pallets, consolidating products from 150 suppliers.
Since most imported goods arrive at Busan Port, Daegu serves as a strategic hub for storing inventory and distributing products to the capital area. This consolidation approach significantly reduces logistics costs and enables efficient delivery to small cafés and restaurants. Ultimately, the platform’s primary role is to streamline consolidation and lower delivery costs, ensuring profitability for small-scale orders.
Have you developed specific packaging solutions to ensure your products last longer and can be delivered over greater distances?
Yes, we’ve developed a specialized solution for custard cream. High-moisture products like custard cream require an extended shelf life, so we made a significant investment of $5 million to install an aseptic filling line in some of our factories—a feature that many others don’t have. This technology allows us to maintain product quality while significantly prolonging its shelf life.
The goal of our report is to showcase the perspectives of leaders in Korea’s food and beverage industry. In one or two sentences, what message would you like our readers to take away from your interview?
We believe in coexisting. There’s no need for competition or enemies. In business, we sometimes purchase from our competitors, and we are open to that. There's no need to eliminate anyone; we can all thrive together. For instance, in the chocolate industry, the largest brand, Cacao Barry in France, has merged with many companies, yet they still haven’t captured all the market share those companies once had. When you merge companies, you eliminate competition in the market, but you still can't dominate it entirely. We’ve experienced this ourselves—after merging with a company, we couldn’t take over 100% of their market share.
This is why we believe in coexisting. The diversity of companies and products sparks healthy competition in terms of price and quality, which ultimately benefits the clients. We don’t worry about competition because the market is vast. We can always innovate and expand into international markets. Why limit ourselves to only the Korean market? We don't want to fight or eliminate others; we want to grow together.
For more information please visit: https://sib.kr/en
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