Korean food hits Tesco shelves in U.K.

Twelve Tesco outlets in Britain will begin regular sales of Korean-made food products such as bulgogi sauce, a pomegranate-flavored health drink that contains vinegar, chocolate-dipped snacks called Pepero, soy sauce, ramyeon and soju on Thursday.

Forty-nine food items from 19 Korean companies, chosen from a wider range of products that were temporarily displayed at a Tesco store in London, have earned regular spots on the shelves of 11 more stores thanks to the excellent consumer response, Home plus said Tuesday.

In a food fair organized by the Korean retailer and the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, 142 food items from 25 Korean companies have been sold at Tesco’s New Malden store in London since July and will stay there through Wednesday.

Companies that make the products on regular sale include CJ CheilJedang, Daesang, Lotte Confectionery, Sempio, Samyang Foods and Lotte Chilsung Beverage.

The 25 food producers posted some 220,000 pounds (about $350,000) in sales from the three-month food fair in New Malden, Tesco said.

The 19 selected companies are expected to generate another 300,000 pounds in sales through the year-end, according to the U.K. retailer, the parent company of Home plus.

Aside from sales at a handful discount stores, this marks the first regular sales of Korean food companies’ products in the U.K.

“We will actively support Korean companies to grow in Europe based on the Tesco network across the continent,” Home plus chairman Lee Seung-han said.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)