Bichobi Goes Global...Orion Expands Overseas Sales from Japan to the US

"Sales to Begin in Japan Next Month and in the U.S. Early Next Year"

Orion announced on September 10 that it will begin full-scale expansion of overseas sales for "Bichobi," a snack popular among foreign tourists visiting Korea.

Starting next month, Orion plans to distribute Bichobi simultaneously at 37 Costco stores in Japan and to launch sales at Costco in the United States early next year. Due to rising domestic demand, there have previously been constraints on securing sufficient export volumes of Bichobi. In April of this year, Orion added an extra production line at its Iksan plant, effectively doubling its production capacity compared to previous levels. This move stabilized domestic supply and laid the foundation for expanding overseas sales.

Beginning with Costco in Japan and the United States, Orion plans to continue expanding both the number of countries and sales channels through which Bichobi is distributed abroad.

Map of the Top 10 Domestic Sales Outlets for Orion BichoB. Provided by Orion

Bichobi has rapidly gained popularity among foreign tourists, primarily through social networking services (SNS), being introduced as a "must-buy snack in Korea" and similar recommendations. In fact, the top 10 sales locations for Bichobi from January to August this year were major tourist and transportation hubs heavily visited by foreign tourists, including Seoul Station, Jagalchi Market in Busan, Seokchon Lake in Jamsil, Gimpo and Incheon airports, and Jeju. Sales at these leading locations more than doubled on average compared to the same period last year. Overall, Bichobi’s cumulative sales from January to August increased by 53% year-on-year.

In line with this, Orion is enhancing Bichobi’s identity as a K-souvenir by releasing editions such as the “Korea Edition” and “National Museum of Korea Edition,” featuring Korean-inspired designs and stories.

An Orion official said, "Our strategy is to apply the successful approach used for expanding Kkobuk Chip and Chammungo Bread—building brand credibility in the domestic market before targeting major global distribution channels—to Bichobi, aiming to grow it into a global K-snack."

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