Jongga, the flagship kimchi brand of South Korean food company Daesang Corporation, is deepening its U.S. infrastructure with a California manufacturing plant, a domestic acquisition, and a broadened product lineup engineered for American palates — a strategy that has already made the United States the brand's single largest export market.

The U.S. overtook Japan in 2023 to claim that top-market position, and the momentum has not slowed. In the first half of 2026, South Korea's total kimchi exports reached approximately USD 86 million; Jongga captured roughly USD 48 million of that — about 56% of the national total. The brand's annual kimchi export revenue nearly tripled from approximately USD 32 million in 2017 to USD 90 million in 2025, a trajectory that reflects both rising consumer interest in fermented foods and the company's deliberate channel expansion beyond Korean specialty retail.

Local Production Strategy

Daesang made its most consequential U.S. infrastructure move in early 2022, opening the first large-scale kimchi plant built by a Korean food company in the United States. The approximately 10,000-square-meter facility in City of Industry, California — near Los Angeles — carries an annual production capacity of 2,000 metric tons and houses dedicated ingredient storage. The plant currently produces Jongga Original Kimchi, Vegan Kimchi, White Kimchi, Silbi Kimchi (an extra-spicy variety), and Cucumber Kimchi, with key ingredients including napa cabbage, radishes, and green onions sourced domestically. In 2023, Daesang reinforced that local footprint by acquiring Lucky Foods, a U.S. food manufacturer whose portfolio includes Seoul Kimchi, adding production capacity and — critically — an established distribution network that has helped the brand push deeper into mainstream retail channels across the western and central United States.

Portfolio and Foodservice Reach

For operators and retail buyers tracking fermented and globally inspired food trends, Jongga's U.S. product development signals a deliberate effort to make kimchi a condiment-aisle staple rather than a specialty-section niche. Beyond traditional napa cabbage kimchi, the brand has introduced varieties using green cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers, a milder White Kimchi, and ABC Kimchi — made with apples, beets, and carrots — designed for consumers new to the category. New formats include a kimchi spread compatible with bread and crackers and Crunchy Bites, a texture-forward snack format.

The brand is also pursuing culinary credibility through high-profile partnerships. In 2024, Jongga collaborated with three-Michelin-star chef Corey Lee to release two San Ho Won Kimchi products under its Jongga Gourmet Edition line — an Original and a White Kimchi — pairing the brand's fermentation expertise with fine-dining recipe development. On the consumer engagement side, a 2024 food truck campaign across Los Angeles and New York reached approximately 6,000 consumers, and the brand activated at the 2025 HEAD IN THE CLOUDS LA music festival, targeting younger demographics through K-food sampling. Operators looking at emerging global flavors in foodservice may find Jongga's expanding format range — from bulk kimchi to spreads to snack bites — increasingly applicable to menu development and grab-and-go applications.

"Building on our local production and distribution infrastructure and longstanding expertise in kimchi production, we will continue to broaden our product portfolio and consumer reach, making kimchi a more familiar and versatile part of everyday life in the United States," said Oh Yeon-taek, CEO of Kimchi CIC at Daesang. Jongga is currently distributed in more than 90 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.