If the existing sauces with flavors such as beef, seafood, or anchovy almost suppressed the taste of original food ingredients, the new sauce is designed to enhance the taste of ingredients inside the food.

Seoul, Korea ¶ July 12, 2012 -- The food processing industry is busy launching new lines of products that have not existed before. Sempio Foods, for example, marketed last May a new natural-ingredient seasoning sauce called “Yeondoo,” meaning yellow-green. If the existing sauces with flavors such as beef, seafood, or anchovy almost suppressed the taste of original food ingredients, the new sauce is designed to enhance the taste of ingredients inside the food.

Donga-Otsuka, meanwhile, recently introduced a powdered drink. The company’s Pocari Sweat ion supply drink in cans and PET bottles has been popular for more than 20 years since its debut in 1987. But the powdered version has become a preferred drink mix for campers and trekkers because it is light to carry in their backs.

CJ Cheiljedang, Korea’s largest food processor long famous for powdered meat broth products, has launched a new product line “Home-cooked Broth.” Unlike the conventional broth products in powdered or cubed forms, the new line is in the shape of gel that can turn into tasty soup after one-minute boiling with water. The gel-type broth is available in bulk and in small packages.

Pulmuone, another food company with focus in tofu and soybean products, has set out to market a new tofu product “Half-and-Half,” as well as other 12 items such as frozen hamburger steak, grilled tofu, and tofu sausage. Instead of high-calorie, high-fat pork and beef, Half-and-Half contains chicken and vegetables in tofu base.

A food processing industry source said, “As consumer trend changes quickly, it’s increasingly difficult for us to compete effectively with run-of-the-mill product lines. In the future we must be alert in coming up with new categories of products reflecting consumer needs.”

Sam Kim (press@whowired.com)