By Ko Dong-hwan
Shin Yu-bin poses with Dongwon F&B's Grilly sausage. Courtesy of Dongwon F&B
Dongwon F&B has struck an advertising deal with Korean table tennis star Shin Yu-bin for its most popular ham brand, as the athlete is emerging as a highly effective marketing asset, according to the major food company, Tuesday.
The company's hiring of the Paris Olympic medalist comes amid a trend of premium upgrades in the country’s ham products. Shin’s advertising appeal, combined with her medal-winning performance in Paris earlier this year, has elevated her as the face of Dongwon’s signature ham brand, Grilly.
Dongwon stated that Shin’s athleticism complements the brand’s fire-grilled flavor, which is also a popular trend among various meat products in Korea. A company official added that Dongwon plans to maintain its partnership with Shin to boost Grilly's market dominance in the country’s ham industry.
The Korean ham market is currently worth around 800 billion won ($580 million) and fire-grilled flavor products are now leading the market, according to Dongwon. The company added that it will grow Grilly to register sales of 100 billion won throughout the next year.
The fire-grilled flavor of Grilly comes from the actual grilling of the meat. It is unlike the previously dominant ham-making method which was smoking. Grilly comes out of a 1,000-degree Celsius fire-grill oven to create the savory taste that an increasing number of ham consumers are now craving, according to Dongwon.
Dongwon launched Grilly and several product lineups of sausage, pork, chicken and bacon under the brand in 2022. The brand extended the country’s ham market that began in the 1960s when ham was treated as an affordable side dish, made by mixing cheap ingredients like fish flakes, chicken and starch.
Following the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Korean food companies started employing more advanced ham-making techniques from Western cultures and introduced smoked sausage and bacon. As the well-being trend began to settle in the 2000s, healthier ham without any additives started dominating the market.
English (United States)