Frozen kimbap is making waves in Korean markets spurred by their recent sell-out success at Trader Joe’s.
“Although these aren’t the exact frozen kimbaps supplied to Trader Joe’s, similar products from other companies are also gaining popularity,” said a Korean market official.
Frozen kimbap’s growing popularity is attributed to its health benefits as a vegan option, affordability, long shelf life, and short preparation time.
Allgot’s Korean-made frozen kimbap, launched at Trader Joe’s in early August, saw its initial 250-ton batch sell out in less than a month after a TikTok video review went viral on social media. In response to a significant increase in inquiries and demands for frozen kimbap, Korean markets have also begun to stock frozen kimbap in their stores.
In Los Angeles’ Koreatown, Korean markets like Galleria Market, Hannam Chain, and Zion Market have begun selling frozen kimbap from brands such as Rally, Jayone, and Eatson.
“The demand for frozen kimbap from young people and vegetarians has skyrocketed. The variety of kimbap with healthy ingredients is the biggest selling point,” said a market industry insider.
Zion Market offers Rally’s frozen konjac kimbap, available in six varieties: konjac kimbap with cheddar cheese, spicy fish cake, crab meat tofu, cabbage egg, mushroom japchae, and fried tofu burdock oats priced at $4.99.
Each serving of the frozen konjac kimbap contains 310 to 410 calories, lower than the average regular kimbap, averaging around 500 calories. The konjac kimbap reduces calories and is packed with protein and vegetables, making it a ‘keto’ (low-carb, high-fat diet) diet food, which is increasingly popular among consumers looking for healthier options.
Eatson’s Gochujang bibimbap vegan kimbap and Burdock fried tofu vegan kimbap are also available in Korean markets for $3.99.
“The frozen kimbap sells out within a week of arrival, so we increased the order volume by more than 50%,” said John Yoon, Zion Market’s Vermont branch manager. “At first, customers were mainly in their 20s and 30s, but nowadays, thanks to word of mouth, the number of middle-aged and elderly customers has increased significantly.”
In response to the surging demand, Hannam Chain and Galleria Market are displaying frozen kimbap at their checkout counters, with some products at discounted prices of $3.99.
“Due to the sharp increase in sales, restocking is taking longer, even with additional orders,” said a worker at Hannam Chain. “Especially, Jayone’s Burdock fried tofu kimbap is the customer favorite because it tastes the same as the famous Trader Joe’s frozen kimbap.”
BY HAEUN CHUNG, HOONSIK WOO [chung.haeun@koreadaily.com]
