#4 – Bibigo Korean-Style Crunchy Chicken

R&FF: Congratulations on placing fourth in our 2021 Best New Frozen Retail Products Contest. What does the recognition mean to Bibigo?

Paik: We are incredibly honored to have our new Bibigo Korean-Style Crunchy Chicken recognized by industry peers, customers, and consumers. Our Bibigo brand celebrates Korean cuisine and the belief that food is meant to bring people together and to be shared. While this brand is relatively new to the U.S., we are excited to share it with consumers throughout the country as we often say that it is more than 5,000 years in the making. Many of our products pay homage to the traditional products of South Korea, which have been perfected over the course of several decades and it is only right to share these items with others who appreciate a labor of love when it relates to food.

R&FF: What innovative features does your Korean-style crunchy chicken have that helped it finish fourth out of 20 finalists?

Paik: One of our core values is that we strive to be the first, the best or different in the marketplace. These past few years, we had noticed significant growth in the amount of attention surrounding Korean fried chicken and knew it was a trend we needed to get ahead of and deliver a great product to consumers.

When it relates to the trend of Korean fried chicken, search results are soaring. There has been a steady rise reported through Google Analytics on the number of consumers searching for Korean Fried Chicken on Google as well as more than 35 million search results on YouTube. Additionally, there has been a rise in Korean-inspired chicken restaurants. Bonchon now has more than 100 restaurants in the U.S. and BB.Q Chicken is also expanding in the U.S. with 47 locations.

Our Korean-style crunchy chicken features antibiotic-free boneless chicken tossed in a signature batter for an extra crunch that’s light and airy. The Soy Garlic flavor has the perfect balance of soy sauce, garlic and ginger. And the Sweet & Spicy variety has the ideal blend of sweetness with the perfect amount of heat from chili peppers.

R&FF: What is unique about Bibigo’s packaging for its Korean-style crunchy dishes, and other Korean-style foods in the line?

Paik: For our Bibigo Korean Style Crunchy Chicken meals, the main objective is to seal and protect the product’s ingredients in order to deliver a great eating experience. These dishes feature juicy, boneless white and dark meat chicken that was raised without antibiotics, a light and airy batter with an extra crunch, and sauces that offer a range of flavors.

With the Bibigo brand, we innovate with our packaging when it can enhance the consumer experience. Another popular product from our Bibigo brand is our steamed dumplings, where consumers can literally turn frozen dumplings into delicious steamed dumplings in a matter of two minutes with the help of the packaging. The dumplings are individually wrapped with six per tray. The tray has a clear film on top that traps the heat and steams the dumplings.

R&FF: How many stores is Bibigo’s Korean-style crunchy chicken in today?

Paik: Bibigo Korean-Style Crunchy Chicken can currently be found at approximately 2,000 stores throughout the U.S., including Kroger, Alliance Marketing, Winco, Schnucks, Dierbergs, Albertson’s and others. We are also actively working with other retailers across the U.S. and expect to have our product in more than 2,500 additional locations by the end of 2021.

R&FF: Logistically, how are your products distributed to stores, and does Bibigo have a direct-to-consumer or e-commerce strategy?

Paik: Today, all Bibigo frozen products arrive at stores through our fellow U.S. CJ CheilJedang affiliate, Schwan’s Company. Our products are sent to their warehouses, where they are then distributed via Schwan’s direct-store-delivery organization.

We absolutely recognize the consumer demand for an enhanced digital shelf, as well as quicker delivery and car-side pick-up options. Our team is aggressively enhancing our presence on customer e-commerce websites and investing in driving our digital channel revenue. We are also working on a direct-to-consumer website, where consumers can digitally order our products.

R&FF: What sustainable programs does Bibigo have today? What areas of sustainability are most important to your company?

Paik: As the distributor for Bibigo products in the U.S., Schwan’s Company focuses its environmental sustainability efforts on energy efficiency on the road and in our facilities, recycling within our facilities and packaging reduction programs. For instance, in 2020 our direct-store-delivery fleet became more efficient through continued driver-education efforts and technological advancements. Overall, our efforts led to a 9.1% improvement in fuel economy year-over-year.

Schwan’s Company is also involved in programs to give back to our communities. For example, we have been working with Feeding America since 2011. In 2020, we donated nearly 550,000 pounds of food to Feeding America and its affiliated food banks. Donations were distributed to 40 food banks in 24 states.

R&FF: What’s on the horizon for Bibigo the rest of 2021 and into 2022?

Paik: This year and into 2022 is all about growth for our Bibigo brand. Although we are well known as one of the most recognized brands in South Korea, we are still relatively new to consumers in the U.S. In conjunction with our other U.S. CJ CheilJedang affiliate, Schwan’s Company, we have several exciting initiatives underway to help our customers grow their frozen Asian food business and deliver the global flavors consumers are seeking.

This summer we are launching our new Bibigo Gotchu Sauce. The sauce is a play on the classic South Korean gochujang — “Gochu,” meaning “Korean chili pepper,” and “Jang,” meaning “fermented sauce.” Unlike a lot of the hot sauces on the market that immediately hit you with spice, this has a unique lingering slow heat that we think hot sauce connoisseurs and those culturally curious foodies will enjoy. Our Gotchu Sauce is available in both Classic and Extra Spicy. It can easily be paired with chicken, pizza, veggies, fried rice, eggs and our personal favorite, mandu—Korean dumplings.

Additionally, we will continue our first national Bibigo brand campaign that kicked off at the beginning of 2021 and will conclude at the end of 2021. For the second part of the campaign, we will focus on areas of increased Bibigo product distribution and awareness including the CJ CUP, which is a PGA event traditionally hosted in South Korea.