On the 15th (local time), ‘Trader Joe’, a large supermarket in New York, USA. A product with the word ‘ Kimbap’ (gimbap) caught my eye on the frozen food shelf here, which is crowded even during the day on weekdays . It was described in English as ‘Korean style tofu vegetable seaweed rice roll’. It was unfamiliar to sell gimbap in American supermarkets, but it stood메이저사이트 out even more because it was a frozen food. When I asked the clerk, he said, “It’s a new product that came in a while ago.”
Trader Joe’s, which has more than 560 stores in 42 states, is a popular grocery store for its own brand ( PB ) products with unique ideas. When a new product comes out, reviews pour in on social media. Frozen gimbap has received attention among new products this month, and reviews such as ‘I ate it too’ and ‘Trader Joe’s gimbap rated by Koreans’ are overflowing on TikTok and YouTube. One vegan YouTuber commented, “A delicious vegetarian meal for $3.99.” Trader Joe’s side said, “You can put all kinds of ingredients in gimbap, but we decided to be vegetarian.”
Frozen kimbap shows the status of Korean food, which has recently grown in presence in American supermarkets. Trader Joe’s sells not only Tteokguk Tteok, but also Tteokbokki, Swan Pajeon, Gochujang, LA Galbi, and Korean Bulgogi as PB products. Korean ramen, seasoned seaweed, dumplings, and tteokbokki have also increased noticeably at large supermarkets such as Costco and Giant, as well as neighborhood deli (grocery stores) throughout New York.Products from Korean food companies such as CJ , Nongshim, and Daesang are the main products. Earlier this year, NBC broadcasting covered the tteokbokki craze in the U.S., saying, “Sales of Daesang O-food packaged tteokbokki increased by 450% after entering Walmart and Amazon in October last year.”The popularization of kimchi also stands out. In addition to kimchi, diced radish kimchi, and white kimchi, even kimchi mayo sauce is sold at Whole Foods, an organic high-end U.S. supermarket. Canned kidney beans and kimchi ‘ Sea-Chi ‘ using seaweed also appeared. Chichi is a product of a seaweed food company in the United States, and the New York Times ( NYT ) reported it as “the taste of emptying a whole bottle.”