[Edaily Reporter Kim Ji-woo ] “‘Jjarur,’ a jajangmyeon-flavored instant noodle made with lard, sold 10 million servings within 100 days of its launch. The company aims to surpass 10 billion won in sales by the end of the year.” (Kim Hee-jung, Team Leader, Product Division, SamyangFoods)
SamyangFoods held a “Jjaru” media tasting event at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 7th, where it revealed the product development process, product features, and future business strategies. Launched last July, “Jjaru” features noodles fried in lard and a liquid jajang sauce.
According to SamyangFoods, as of the 5th—approximately 100 days after its launch—Jjaru had recorded cumulative sales of 10 million units. It also rose to second place in market share for jajang ramen just two months after its launch. In the early stages of its launch, online pre-orders and initial orders from distributors surged beyond expectations, temporarily causing supply to fall short of demand. Currently, production and supply have stabilized.
“Jjaru” was developed to target the stagnant jajang ramen market. The domestic non-broth ramen market is valued at approximately 700 billion won, of which jajang ramen accounts for about 40%. While the non-broth ramen market has grown at an average annual rate of 2.1% over the past three years, the jajang ramen market has shrunk by an average of 6.4% annually.
Amid this stagnation in the jajang ramen market, SamyangFoods opted for lard and liquid sauce to differentiate its product from existing offerings. Director Chae emphasized, “Instead of using typical vegetable oil, we fried the noodles in beef tallow to bring out the rich, savory flavor unique to beef, and we used liquid sauce instead of powdered seasoning to highlight the flavors of black bean paste and stir-fry.” She added, “The toppings consist of diced beef and soy protein flakes, with about 5g included to deliver a beefy flavor and a chewy texture.” While typical ramen contains 2–3 grams of flakes, the company explained that it included square-shaped beef dice to enhance the texture.
During the product development process, the team visited over 100 renowned jjajangmyeon restaurants nationwide to analyze their flavors and cooking methods. Lee Byung-hoon, Director of the SamyangFoods Research Institute, said, “We conducted over 450 sauce formulation experiments over the course of about one year and six months,” adding, “We also analyzed the thickness, chewiness, and sauce absorption of the noodles from these renowned restaurants before finalizing the recipe through more than 300 formulation experiments.”
The cooking method also sets the product apart. “Jjarur” is prepared by simmering the noodles without draining the water. Since the noodles are fried in lard, the cooking water—which is infused with the noodles’ natural flavors—is not discarded but mixed with the liquid sauce to enhance the jajang flavor.
SamyangFoods believes that “Jjaru” is expanding its jajangmyeon ramen portfolio rather than cannibalizing demand for its existing “Jjajaroni” product. In fact, the company explains that Jjajaroni’s cumulative sales this year have increased by approximately 5% compared to the same period last year. The strategy is to expand consumer choices by offering both the relatively lower-priced Jjajaroni and the premium product, “Jjaru,” simultaneously.
The company plans to review market potential and consumer demand to determine whether to launch a cup noodle version of “Jjarur.” According to SamyangFoods, bagged noodles account for about 80% of the jajangmyeon market, while cup noodles make up about 20%.
The company is also targeting overseas markets. However, since regulations regarding animal-based fats vary by country, the plan is to launch products sequentially, focusing on export-eligible countries such as the U.S. and Japan. Samyang 1963 is currently sold at H-Mart in the U.S. and 7-Eleven in Japan, among other retailers.
Starting with “Jjaru,” SamyangFoods envisions developing “Uji” into a brand asset that transcends a single product characteristic. Kim Hee-jung, Head of the Product Team at SamyangFoods, stated, “We are moving beyond one-off new product launches to expand our lineup using ‘Uji,’” adding, “We plan to cultivate it as SamyangFoods’ core heritage and asset, expanding it not only domestically but also into overseas markets in the future.”
Meanwhile, Kim Jung-soo, Chairman of SamyangFoods, made a surprise visit that day while reporters were sampling Jjarur. Chairman Kim explained, “It took less time to develop this product than it did for Uji Ramen. Our goal was to launch the product quickly so we could recreate the authentic taste of jjajangmyeon in ramen form for consumers,” and shared his impressions after tasting Jjarur, saying, “It had a ‘jjarur’ sensation in my mouth and tasted delicious.”
