In South Korea's 400 billion won mandu market, the top two brands, CJ CheilJedang's Bibigo and Haetae Confectionery's Gohyang Mandu, both saw sales decline last year. Latecomer brands that differentiated themselves with dim sum and thin wrappers are rapidly closing in with double-digit growth rates, reshaping the mid-tier landscape.
According to food industry statistics data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 18th, based on last year's retail POS sales (for offline stores such as large supermarkets), Bibigo ranked first with 220.7 billion won, capturing a 53.2% market share. Gohyang Mandu came in second with sales of 54.2 billion won (13.1%). The duopoly structure, where the top two brands account for about two-thirds of the market, has remained consistent year after year.
However, cracks are appearing in this duopoly. Gohyang Mandu's sales fell for three consecutive years, from 61.2 billion won in 2023 to 56.4 billion won in 2024 and 54.2 billion won last year, marking a 11.3% decline over the past two years. Bibigo saw an increase from 201.4 billion won in 2023 to 226.6 billion won in 2024 but declined by 2.57% last year. Its market share also dropped from 55.6% in 2024 to 53.2% last year.
Data based on manufacturers shows a similar trend. Last year, CJ CheilJedang's mandu sales fell by 1.09% year-on-year to 227.8 billion won, while Haetae Confectionery's sales dropped by 5.42% to 64.7 billion won. Haetae Confectionery has seen a decline for three consecutive years since 72.4 billion won in 2023. In contrast, Pulmuone Foods (53 billion won) grew by 12.93%, Ottogi (35.1 billion won) by 17.37%, and Dongwon F&B (43.3 billion won) by 6.12%. Among the top five companies, only the top two, CJ CheilJedang and Haetae Confectionery, saw sales decline.
Competition among products ranked 3rd to 5th is fierce. Dongwon F&B's 'Dim Sum' recorded sales of 23.8 billion won last year, growing 15.61% year-on-year to take third place. Sales doubled in just two years, rising from 12 billion won in 2023. Ottogi's 'X.O.' also rose to fourth place with sales of 23.4 billion won last year, a 24.78% increase year-on-year, representing a 50.5% growth over two years compared to 15.5 billion won in 2023.
In the mid-tier segment, Harim Industries' 'Deomik' shows particularly strong growth. Deomik's sales increased from 800 million won in 2023 to 7.1 billion won in 2024 and reached 14.6 billion won last year. Last year's sales growth rate of 104.13% was the highest among the top 10 brands.
Pulmuone Foods' 'Thin Wrapper Full' recorded sales of 17.9 billion won last year, a 38.07% increase, securing sixth place. Pulmuone's 'Fresh Mandu', newly included in last year's statistics, also entered the top 10 with sales of 4.5 billion won.
Meanwhile, the overall quantitative growth of the mandu market is slowing. Total sales based on mandu brands increased by 8.6% from 375.4 billion won in 2023 to 407.7 billion won in 2024, but last year's increase was only 1.75%, reaching 414.9 billion won. As market growth slows, consumer preferences are diversifying toward brands promoting concepts such as premium quality, dim sum, and thin wrappers.
in LIVING
