Nongshim sets vision to achieve $1.5b in sales by 2030

In celebration of his second year in office, Shin Dong-won, chairperson of Korean food giant Nongshim, on Thursday unveiled a vision to post $1.5 billion in global sales by 2030 and become the No. 1 ramen seller in the US amid its soaring performance there.

According to the company, Nongshim's plan, which is to triple its annual sales by 2030 from its current $490 million, mainly centers on scaling up its US business.

For the achievement of its goal, Shin said Nongshim will review plans to build its third plant in the US starting in 2025.

"Due to the soaring popularity of Nongshim's ramen products in the US market, in 2021, Nongshim's US plant (in San Bernardino county, California) could not keep up with the demand. By completing its second US plant in 2022 and improving the plants' production capacity by 70 percent, the company was able to log 40 percent on-year growth in annual sales and a 604 percent increase in operating profit," a Nongshim official said.

With the third plant, the company aims to rise to being the ramen firm with the largest market share in US. Currently, Japanese ramen firm Toyo Suisan Kaisha holds the largest share -- 47.7 percent -- of instant noodle sales in the US, while Nongshim is in second place with a 25.5 percent market share, according to market tracker Euromonitor.

"With our current growth rate in the US market, along with the slim difference between us and (Toyo Suisan Kaisha in terms of market share), we are positive Nongshim will achieve our goal (by 2030)," the official added.

In addition to ramping up its active expansion into overseas markets, Nongshim will also aim to fortify its status domestically by initiating a number of projects to improve its profitability, according to Shin's vision.

Specifically, the company said it will aggressively expand the application of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things -- or IoT -- technology, to its ramen production sites, to increase efficiency and minimize defective rates.

Shin added that in the years ahead, the firm will also actively seek out new businesses opportunities such as establishing smart farms.

Nongshim will search for ways to advance its smart farm facilities by partnering up with Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in a bid to develop facilities that will ultimately allow Nongshim to control and optimize the growth conditions of crops autonomously.

According to his vision, Shin is also actively seeking to enter the health functional food market, led by Nongshim's Lifill brand, launched in 2020.

Recently, Nongshim introduced various health functional foods such as probiotics, Omega-3, lactoferrin and collagen supplements under Lifill in a bid to widen its business portfolio.

In the future, Nongshim said it aims to expand related markets by introducing various new products, such as products that help the metabolic system as well as improve sleep and memory.