Pulmuone’s tofu sales up 11% in US

Pulmuone’s wholly owned US subsidiary Pulmuone Foods USA said on Monday that sales of its tofu have increased 11 percent this year from last year.

The South Korean food giant attributed its sales performance to the construction of its tofu production line at Pulmuone Fullerton plant.

The production facility established in November in California contributed to increasing the total production of tofu in the US by 38 percent, according to the company.

Pulmuone Foods USA is currently operating tofu plants in Fullerton, California, Ayer, Massachusetts, and Tappan, New York.

Pulmuone plans to lead the growth of the US tofu market by increasing its distribution in US retail stores to 15,000 from 12,000 and launching tofu products in US supermarket stores and Canadian distribution channels in the future.

Pulmuone Foods USA currently has over 75 percent of the market share in the US tofu market, after acquiring the nation’s top tofu brand, Nasoya, in 2016.

“The market penetration rate of tofu in US families is only about 8 percent, so the local tofu market is still in its early stages of growth,” said Cho Kil-su, CEO of Pulmuone Foods USA. “In response, Pulmuone will develop various products that would suit local consumers’ tastes and work to raise the tofu market penetration rate to double digits.”

By Lee Yoon-Seo (yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com)