Authenticity Meets Adaptation: Italian Food Trends in South Korea

Branding Strategy of Italian-sounding Brands

Brand perception is crucial in determining a brand's long-term success and market position. Companies build brand perceptions through carefully crafted strategies, even when deciding on seemingly simple aspects such as product packaging that influence consumers' snap judgment in purchasing decisions.

When it comes to Italian food items in South Korea, food manufacturers have strategically positioned their brands to appeal to consumers' strong preference for authentic Italian ingredients. The most representative examples include Sempio's Fontana (which means 'Fountain' in Italian) and Ottogi's Fresco (which means 'Fresh' in Italian).

Figure 1. Italian-sounding Brand Names

Source: E-Mart

Fontana is especially popular as a premium European-inspired brand that offers various cooking ingredients and home meal replacements (HMR) such as risotto, soup, and stews. As a testament to its popularity and success, Fontana occupies the largest portion of the pasta sauce shelves in the country's top three retailers: E-Mart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart.

Figure 2. Brand Occupation on the Pasta Sauce Shelves of the Three Largest Retailers

Source: Tridge (photos taken in Jan-24)

Fontana’s Italian brand name, packaging featuring the Italian flag, and its tagline, “Fall in Love with Italy with the Flavors of Fontana,” evoke images of Italian heritage and authenticity. These strategic branding decisions have led many to believe the brand is imported or of Italian origin. However, most are produced domestically, offering a taste familiar to local consumers. This balance of authentic Italian imagery and a reflection of local taste has contributed to Fontana's successful brand image.

Reinvention of Italian Cuisine

Food manufacturers not only provide ingredients for cooking Italian meals but are also reinventing Italian staples, such as pasta home meal replacements and pasta instant noodles. This is due to South Korea’s shifting socio-economic conditions, where the increased cost of dining out and single-person households have led to the demand for convenient and cost-effective meals. Thus, food manufacturers and retailers have increased their efforts to cater to this change in demand and consumer preferences.

Home Meal Replacements

HMRs are a massive hit in South Korea, and demand grows yearly. According to CU, one of the largest convenience stores in the country, year-on-year (YoY) sales growth rates were 16.4% in 2022, 26.1% in 2023, and 33% in 2024. Therefore, it is common to find various pasta HMRs as a quick meal option in convenience stores, major retailers, and e-commerce platforms.

Partnering with renowned chefs and high-end restaurants to launch restaurant meal replacements (RMR) has also gained popularity, especially among the younger generations who find value in trying meals from high-end restaurants at a low price. An example includes Maeil Dairies working with The Kitchen Il Forno, a high-end Italian restaurant in Seoul, to launch four different pasta meal kits.

Pasta Instant Noodles

Top instant noodle companies also offer pasta instant noodles, which provide a unique South Korean experience. Slightly different from HMRs, which are premixed and heated in a microwave, pasta instant noodles are cooked by mixing hot water, dehydrated noodles, and the seasoning packet.

Figure 3. Pasta Instant Noodles from the 3 largest Instant Noodle Manufacturers

Source: E-Mart

Although the West may be unfamiliar with this style of pasta, pasta instant noodles offers a quick meal option suited for Koreans. According to Homeplus, online sales revenue for non-broth instant noodles increased by 17% YoY, with pasta instant noodles seeing the highest growth, rising by 143% YoY.

This increase in sales revenue is partly due to Nongshim’s Toomba Pasta-flavored Instant Noodle, which was released on Oct-23. Within a month of the release of ShinRamen Toomba Pasta Noodle (packet), Nongshim sold 6 million packets, and within two months of the release of the cup version, Nongshim sold 5 million cups. This positive response accounted for 24% of sales revenue in the Pasta Instant Noodle category for Homeplus.

Partnership Opportunities

South Korea's preference for authentic Italian food and demand for quick and easy meals make it an interesting market for Italian suppliers. This allows for opportunities to partner with retailers and food manufacturers to expand their market presence in Asia, as seen in the case of Barilla. On Dec-24, Pulmuone, a prominent market player in refrigerated products, launched a sub-brand called Artisan with Barilla, one of Italy's largest pasta noodle manufacturers. Artisan carries premium pasta HMRs and is looking to export to other Asian markets, including Thailand.

To find reputable suppliers in Italy, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) promotes more than 12,000 Italian companies and assists in trade relations.

To contact reputable premium suppliers vetted by the ITA, please visit Tridge.com