Expect Korean foods and flavors to roll out to more retail shelves in the coming year as the cuisine continues to gain traction on U.S. menus. 

According to market researcher Circana, the number of Korean restaurant locations increased by 10% in the past year, and dishes like kimchi, Korean fried chicken and Korean corn dogs notched double-digit growth over 2023, rising 80%, 22% and 52%, respectively. Also expanding on menus during the period were Korean barbecue jerky sauce (up 80% year over year), spicy Korean sauce (29%) and Korean hot sauce (23%).

“This culinary trend is a vital part of the Korean Wave — a cultural movement that has elevated South Korean pop culture, from K-pop to K-dramas, to worldwide prominence since the 1990s, now further amplified by the reach of platforms like TikTok,” said Tim Fires, president, global foodservice at Circana, in a press release.

Nosh Insiders can access the full analysis to learn how the K-food craze is manifesting within CPG.

It's the collaboration none of us saw coming, but can’t say we are too surprised to see on our feeds. This week, MrBeast and Logan Paul threw their likenesses, and respective CPG brands, behind a new joint venture aimed at producing better-for-you lunch kits for kids, known as Lunchly. 

🍕 The Lunchables-like products come in Fiesta Nachos, The Pizza, and Turkey Stack Em’s varieties; each box contains crackers, cheese and a protein along with a miniature Feastables bar and a bottle of Prime Hydration. 

💬 What they said: “This move is different than more traditional partnerships… platforming through partnerships is one thing, creating a co-branded joint venture and jumping aisles together is a totally different game.” - Amrit Richmond, founder of Indie CPG

Stay tuned for a deep dive into the launch of Lunchly later today. 

Kaveh Zamanian, the founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery, talks about how his personal passion for whiskey became an entrepreneurial journey, how he assembled a team of industry veterans early into the development of the company, why he credits a strong social support network as key to his career transition and pitching 1,000 investors over the course of two years and how he got 110 to say “yes.”

Listen to the episode now.

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