S.Korea's KGC to spur ginseng sales in China with state-run CR Group

The ginseng firm seeks to boost overseas sales; will expand tenfold the number of Chinese offline stores selling its products

KGC's red ginseng products (Courtesy of KGC)
KGC's red ginseng products (Courtesy of KGC)
Jiyoon Yang 1
2023-03-02 11:35:45 yang@hankyung.com
Food & Beverage

Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC), wholly owned by South Korean tobacco giant KT&G Corp., is set to accelerate sales of its ginseng products across China via a new partnership.

The ginseng firm said on March 1 it will cooperate with China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical Co. (CR Sanjiu), one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in China, to intensify supply chains in the country. 

CR Sanjiu is a subsidiary of state-run China Resources Group, a conglomerate that owns pharmaceutical, healthcare, beverage, energy, asset management, construction and other units.

KGC CEO Heo Cheol-ho and CR Sanjiu CEO Huawei Qiu discussed details of the two firms’ strategic partnership in Shenzhen, China on Feb. 24.

Through CR Sanjiu’s distribution networks, KGC will expand the number of offline stores selling its products in China from the current 10,000 to 100,000, including pharmacies, hospitals, supermarkets and shopping malls, and also strengthen its online promotion. 

In addition, the two parties will join forces to enter Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia with KGC’s ginseng products.

KGC aims to quickly expand its presence in the Chinese market as its revenue at home have shrunk over the past years.

The firm’s revenue dropped 13.1% from 1.27 trillion won ($968.4 million) in 2019 to 1.1 trillion won last year. On the other hand, its overseas revenue jumped 51.3% from 133.3 billion won to 201.7 billion won during the same period. 

Write to Jiyoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.
#KGC Korean ginseng #ginseng efficacy #ginseng healthcare #Korea KT&G #Korea Ginseng Corp #CR Sanjiu China #CR Group China #ginseng in China

Red ginseng prevents flu, pneumonia: research

Red ginseng prevents flu, pneumonia: research

Getty Images  Studies have shown that South Korea's hongsam (red ginseng) is effective in preventing respiratory diseases such as the flu and pneumonia.The Korean Society of Ginseng on Tuesday said a research team led by professor Lee Dong-kwon of Sungkyunkwan University's College of Pharm

KT&G refuses activist funds' call for ginseng biz spinoff

KT&G refuses activist funds' call for ginseng biz spinoff

Korea Ginseng Corp.’s red ginseng and company researchers (Courtesy of KGC, KT&G’s wholly owned unit) KT&G Corp., the world’s fifth-largest tobacco maker, on Thursday refused activist funds' requests to spin off and list its ginseng unit while planning to spend some 90

Singapore PE firm proposes KT&G spin off ginseng biz

Singapore PE firm proposes KT&G spin off ginseng biz

KT&G headquarters in Seoul A Singaporean private equity firm has proposed a number of measures to KT&G Corp., the world’s fifth-largest tobacco maker, including a spin-off of its ginseng business to boost shareholder value and profitability.Flashlight Capital Partners Pte. (FCP) a

Korea Ginseng Corp. intensifies marketing efforts in the UAE

Korea Ginseng Corp. intensifies marketing efforts in the UAE

A UAE pharmacist discusses Korean CheongKwanJang red ginseng with a customer (Courtesy of KGC) South Korea’s Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC) said on Tuesday it recently hosted its second annual conference for large retail pharmacy chains in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference wa
(* comment hide *}