SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — As the price of ramyeon (Korean instant noodles), a popular food among common people for its affordability, moved up sharply amid high inflation, the low-price private brand (PB) products developed by major retailers are enjoying rising popularity.
E-Mart Inc. said it sold more than 1 million packs of its PB instant noodles called Ramyeon Bowl last year, up 41 percent year on year.
In particular, sales jumped by 89.7 percent in January when consumer prices spiked, with 129,000 packages sold in a single month.
It is a set of five packs of ramyeon selling at a price of 1,980 won (US$1.53). Since it was released in 2016, its price has remained unchanged.
Kookmin (meaning “people” in Korean) Ramyeon, which Homeplus released in 2019, is also enjoying popularity thanks to its cheap price. The set of five packs of ramyeon is selling at a price of 2,500 won.
The nation’s major instant noodle makers pushed up their prices citing the hike in personnel, logistics and raw material costs last year.
In particular, Nongshim Co. raised prices by 19.3 percent on average twice last year.
The price of Nongshim’s flagship instant noodles Shin Ramyun, which used to sell for 676 won per pack at large discount stores, has now increased to 810 won.
Image Credit: E-Mart Inc. / photonews@koreabizwire.com
