Samyang Foods' 'Buldak' Surpasses 10 Billion Sold... Unveils Next-Generation Character 'Peppo'

Buldak Now Sells 63 Units Every Second
Peppo to Drive Buldak's Growth Beyond 10 Billion Units

Samyang Foods' global brand 'Buldak' has surpassed a cumulative sales volume of 10 billion units. This milestone comes 14 years after its launch in 2012. Samyang Foods is using this achievement as an opportunity to introduce its next-generation character 'Peppo (PEPPO)' at the forefront, aiming to expand its global intellectual property (IP) beyond food into content and merchandise businesses.

On June 5, Samyang Foods announced, "This year marks the 14th anniversary of the launch of the Buldak brand (noodles), and as of the end of this month, cumulative sales have exceeded 10 billion units," adding, "Cumulative revenue has reached 7 trillion won." Annual sales stand at approximately 2 billion units, meaning that 63 units are sold every second worldwide.

Samyang Foods Buldak Next-Generation Character Peppo (PEPPO) Packaging. Provided by Samyang Foods.

Buldak began its journey in 2012 with exports to three countries: Japan, Germany, and New Zealand. It has since grown into a global brand now sold in over 100 countries. After reaching the milestone of 1 billion units in cumulative sales in 2017, its growth rate accelerated sharply. The brand surpassed 4 billion units in 2022, 9 billion units last year, and reached the 10 billion mark in just half a year.

The company attributes Buldak's success to its global fandom culture. The 'Buldak Challenge,' which spread through social networking services (SNS) such as YouTube and TikTok, has established Buldak not just as a food item but also as a form of play culture. In the United States, there was even a shortage of Carbo Buldak Bokkeum Myeon, and recall issues in some European countries further increased the brand's visibility.

Last year, Samyang Foods became the first company in the Korean food industry to reach annual exports of 900 million dollars, and it now accounts for more than 60% of Korea's instant noodle exports.

Samyang Foods Buldak Next-Generation Character Peppo (PEPPO) Package. Provided by Samyang Foods.

On this day, Samyang Foods also introduced its new character, 'Peppo.' The backstory for 'Peppo' is that it is a chick hatched from an egg laid by the original Buldak character 'Hochi.' Unlike ordinary birds that cannot sense spiciness, Peppo reacts strongly to spicy foods, and when experiencing spiciness, the 'flame heart' on top of its head ignites. Samyang Foods explained that this visually represents the thrilling sensation consumers experience when eating Buldak.

Peppo was developed specifically to target the 'digital native' generation, who are familiar with short-form content and digital platforms. In fact, the Peppo YouTube channel, launched in 2024, has already gained 1.06 million subscribers, and its presence is expanding to TikTok and Instagram as well.

Peppo is already being used on product packaging for the North American market and in global marketing. The character has been featured on the packaging of 'Buldak Swicy,' which launched last year, and 'Buldak Mac & Cheese,' which debuted this year. It was also unveiled at the Seoul Myeong-dong pop-up store 'House of Burn' and at the 'Thaifex-Anuga 2026' food expo in Thailand.

A Samyang Ani representative explained, "Rather than resting on the success of 'Hochi,' which has become an icon of spiciness, we developed the next-generation character 'Peppo' to engage more deeply with younger generations familiar with online and digital environments."

Starting this month, Samyang Foods plans to gradually introduce 'Peppo' to domestic Buldak product packaging, beginning with Buldak Sauce and expanding to main product lines such as Original and Carbo Buldak Bokkeum Myeon.

Additionally, the company will launch its official platform 'peppoworld.com' and begin full-scale merchandise operations, offering items such as plush toys, keyrings, and cushions. Sales of these products are scheduled to begin in August. This is an extension of Samyang Foods' 'Eatertainment' strategy, which aims to transform the company from simply selling food to creating new culture based on brand IP and content.

A Samyang Foods representative commented, "Surpassing 10 billion units in cumulative sales is a powerful turning point for the advancement of the Buldak brand. Rather than relying on the formula for success, we will leverage the next-generation character Peppo to deliver differentiated brand experiences in various areas, engage with the global younger generation, and enhance the value of the Buldak brand."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.