By Kim Hyun-bin

CJ CheilJedang plans to expand its global presence in K-Food by entering into new markets other than the existing ones in the U.S., Europe and Japan, according to the company Sunday.

The company has decided to advance into Canada, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. It plans to operate in a two-track fashion, by establishing local production as well as country-to-country exports, which is a method of exporting products produced at global production bases to neighboring countries.

Visitors try CJ dumplings at a bibigo dumpling tasting event in a supermarket in France. Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang

"This year, we will make a fully-fledged entry into countries, the markets of which we have not yet entered and achieve innovative growth centered on the seven global strategic products (dumplings, processed rice, chicken, K-sauce, kimchi, seaweed and rolls)." Choi Eun-seok, CEO of CJ CheilJedang, said.

In the case of the North American market, the company plans to secure a production base by putting Asian food such as dumplings and processed rice at the forefront in Canada, utilizing its U.S. business infrastructure.

In Australia, the company plans to secure a local dumpling production base and promote entry into large distribution channels.

In Thailand, it plans to expand its business by taking full advantage of its geographical proximity to Vietnam, which has a production base and aims to promote Korean-style chicken and kimchi. Since Thailand is a country that prefers Korean cultural content, it decided to utilize KCON and MAMA actively.

The company plans to secure local production bases in Indonesia and Malaysia to foster K-Halal bases covering the entire global halal market, including not only Southeast Asia but also the Middle East.

CJ CheilJedang's global food business posted cumulative sales of 3.77 trillion won ($2.99 billion) in the third quarter of last year, up 19.4 percent from the same period last year. Operating profit for the same period was 227 billion won, up 38.8 percent from the same period last year.