[Opinion] Korea’s Top Dumpling Maker Goes Public

Branding is essential to business management in the 21st century. Businesses do their best to elevate their brand value, because consumers prefer certain brands. To raise brand value, not only advertising but also earning consumer’s trust with high quality is important. Corporations must earn consumer’s trust to recover from failure.

News of parasite eggs in kimchi and spoiled radish pickles in dumplings threaten the survival of businesses in those industries.

Chew Young Roo, Korea’s top boiled dumpling manufacturer, adopted a traceability system last year. By entering an identification number that is marked on packages of “Jeju Premium Boiled Dumpling” on the website, consumers can obtain information on feed, slaughter, and processing of the pork used in the product.

Starting from 2002, the company began concentrating on sanitation management by applying Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. Workers must put on hygienic clothes and hats and go through a sterilization chamber before entering the company’s factory in Gyeonggi Province. Consumer groups continue to visit the factories for learning the process. This is how the company overcame the dumpling scandal in June 2004.

Chew Young Roo was a Chinese restaurant that an overseas Chinese, Sung Mo, established in 1945. The restaurant was so popular that people had to wait over an hour to taste its dumplings. Park Sung-soo, president of a dumpling business, thought that his dumplings needed a brand. Park bought Chew Young Roo’s license and trademark in 2000 and focused on quality by investing in research and development. Sales rose from 2.2 billion won in 2000 to 5.9 billion in 2001, and 18 billion won in 2002.

Last year, the market for processed dumplings was 200 billion won, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. The market share of fried dumplings was 67 billion won, a 40 percent increase year on year.

With such strong growth, Chew Young Roo was listed on the KOSDAQ yesterday. It was listed via a “back door” listing by exchanging shares with the mail-order firm C&Tel. “Our business will be centered on consumers,” said Park. One day, Chew Young Roo may grow to threaten Pizza Hut or KFC.

Lim Gyu-jin, Editorial Writer, mhjh22@donga.com