CheongKwanJang tops global ginseng sales for 10 years straight

Sales of red ginseng health supplement brand CheongKwanJang held the largest market share in the global ginseng market for 10 years in a row, Korea Ginseng Corp. said Sunday.

According a report published by market research firm Euromonitor International, the global ginseng retail market was valued at about 3.13 trillion won ($2.5 billion) last year. Among them, sales of CheongKwanJang, a brand under KGC, logged 1.31 trillion won with a 41.9 percent market share.

It is the 10th year in a row that CheonKwanJang has led the global ginseng market in terms of market share, since taking the first place in 2013 with 916 billion won in sales.

KGC attributed its continued market leadership to its efforts to target the local markets and build digital platforms that suit each country's individual characteristics.

The ginseng company said it plans to focus more on expanding its global business in the future, by releasing new products with various flavors and formulations tailored to the needs of foreign consumers, in addition to securing local distribution channels by striking up partnerships with various countries.

"We are also expanding our markets from Asian regions including China and Taiwan, to Europe and Middle East," said an official from KGC in a press release.

"This data from Euromonitor once again confirms Korea's status as a leading producer of ginseng and CheongKwanJang as the world's number one ginseng brand," he added.

"We will take the lead in globalizing Korean ginseng until the day KGC can be responsible for the health of people around the world."

KGC's sales and operating profit in the third quarter of last year recorded 429 billion won and 74.8 billion won each, up 2.7 percent and 9.2 percent from the same period the year before, respectively.

KGC's overseas sales in the third quarter rose 6.9 percent year-on-year to 50.8 billion won.