Pulmuone Foods USA Posts 11.1 pct Growth in US Tofu Sales to Retain No.1 Market Share

◦ Pulmuone Foods USA’s tofu sales in US increased 11.1 pct on-year in 2018, solidifying its market share leadership

◦ US tofu market grows 9.3 pct in 2018 with a surge in meat alternatives and plant-based protein foods

◦ Beyond ethnic and Asian stores, Pulmuone Foods USA expects sustainable growth in US mainstream tofu market and aims for sales growth of 12.3 pct to $88 million

SEOUL – January 13st, 2019 – With the recent surge in tofu as a plant-based meat alternative food, the tofu business of Pulmuone Foods USA, which has the largest market share in the U.S., is seeing continuous growth over the years.

▲ Pulmuone Foods USA's various tofu products in the U.S. market

Pulmuone announced on June 13 that Pulmuone Foods USA, a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of the company, posted $88 million in tofu sales in 2018, an 11.1 percent increase year-on-year. This led to 73.8 percent tofu market share of Pulmuone Foods USA, according to Nielson as of Dec 3, 2018, solidifying the U.S. branch’s market leadership.

The total size of U.S. tofu market also posted a 9.3 percent growth as growing numbers of consumers are interested in health benefits of the plant-based protein food.

“The future outlook of U.S. tofu market is very bright,” said Gil-su Cho, a General Manager of Pulmuone Foods USA. “We are expecting to see 12.3 percent or higher growth in tofu sales in the U.S. this year to achieve more than $90 million amount of sales.”

The continued growth of Pulmuone Foods USA’s tofu sales in the U.S., an emerging market for the soy curd, is a notable case as sales of tofu in Northeast Asia, where tofu is a staple cuisine in many countries, has remained unchanged in recent years.

The recent market growth of tofu in the U.S. is due to the consumers’ interest in plant-based protein products as a suitable alternative to meat, and Pulmuone Foods USA, which acquired U.S. tofu brand Nasoya in 2016, is said to have contributed by continuously developing new products to satisfy the palates of Americans and promoting aggressive marketing across the U.S. to meet not only ethnic and Asian consumers but also the U.S. mainstream buyers.

To introduce tofu to global markets, Pulmuone has operated Global Soy Centers not only in Korea but also in the U.S., China and Japan, and the Center in U.S., located in Los Angeles, has developed more than 20 new tofu products after years of efforts to meet local consumers’ taste and palate: a high protein tofu that contains more than 1.8 times protein than average tofu, a super firm tofu made with 2 to 4 times harder texture, a seasoning tofu glazed with sauce to remove off-flavor, a cubed tofu that can be consumed at once as topping, a burger-patty tofu, etc. The tofu products of Pulmuone Foods USA are vacuum packed, with its “vac-pack” technology, so consumers don’t need to worry about sloshing water when they cook, add seasoning ingredients or place it into an oven.

Sales of water pack tofu are also on the rise, and Pulmuone Foods USA saw its sales of packed tofu products increase by 10 percent year-on-year in 2018.

“For the convenience of U.S. consumers who are not familiar with tofu ingredients, we used to develop products that are ready to eat straight out of the package or cook in a microwave oven,” said Jong-hee Park, a Category Manager of Pulmuone Foods USA. “As more American consumers are aware of tofu as a meal prep, however, sales of packed tofu products have contributed a lot to the 10 percent growth of our overall packed tofu sales,” he added.

In 1991 when Pulmuone started its business in the U.S., Korean-Americans and Asian population were the main consumers of tofu products. Recently, however, the sales proportion of mainstream markets have steadily grown to reach 80 percent of the total U.S. tofu sales of Pulmuone Foods USA, and the other 20 percent of the sales are made by Asian consumers including those in Koreatown of Los Angeles.

“The aggressive market expansion of tofu has been possible because of our nationwide distribution capabilities and technologies that extended the shelf life of tofu products to 60 days at 41 ‎°F, the refrigerated storage temperature required in the U.S. which is 9 degree lower than that of Korea,” said officials from Pulmuone Foods USA.