Samyang secures the 'swicy' fad's longevity through trademark registration
Samyang Foods Files Trademark for "Buldak Swicy" Flavor Combination
Samyang Foods, a South Korean food company, has filed a trademark for "Buldak Swicy," a sweet-and-spicy flavor combination that is central to their global flavor push. The trademark, still pending examination, is intended to help Samyang "proactively respond to global flavor trends."
The swicy flavor profile is already a hit, particularly in Samyang's Buldak noodles. Variants like Buldak Carbonara and Curry, which feature this distinctive flavor, have drawn attention from global media and consumers alike. Last year, a limited-edition Buldak Curry made with coconut milk sold out quickly in China.
Samyang's strategic approach to expanding its flavor portfolio and global brand presence is evident in their recent moves. The company has applied the swicy trademark to nearly all of its existing product categories. No concrete product plans related to swicy have been disclosed, but Buldak remains a key focus.
In a bid to control seasoning production and maintain proprietary flavor profiles, Samyang is pursuing a major acquisition of GnF, a local sauce maker supplying powdered seasonings to major Korean food companies. This move, potentially valued over 50 billion won (~US$43 million), would give Samyang in-house capabilities for seasoning and sauce production.
To meet soaring global demand, particularly for their spicy Buldak ramyeon brand, Samyang plans to complete a new factory in China by January 2027. They also recently ramped up operations at a second factory in Miryang.
Innovative product launches are also part of Samyang's strategy. The company recently introduced "Mep," a Korean-style ramyeon soup product line offering several flavors, though "swicy" is not specifically mentioned. However, given the popularity of the swicy flavor profile, it's likely that future products will continue to reflect this trend.
Samyang is also focusing on health-conscious and plant-based offerings. The corporation is advancing AI-based solutions to reduce sugar in various food categories, using ingredients like allulose and resistant maltodextrin. Additionally, Samyang Foods invested significantly in SUJIS LINK’s high-moisture plant-based meat technology to develop new vegan Korean food products.
Overseas markets accounted for nearly 80 percent of total sales, reaching a record 1.33 trillion won last year. Samyang's operating profit more than doubled to 344.2 billion won last year. The company's revenue jumped 45 percent to 1.73 trillion won ($1.25 billion) last year.
Samyang has launched Buffamin, a curated K-food retail store in China, operated by Samyang Aani. The newly launched Buldak Banana is one of the Samyang items not yet officially released in China. The global flavor push has fueled a streak of record-breaking financial performance for the company.
In summary, while Samyang Foods has not publicly detailed explicit plans centered solely on the "swicy" flavor trend, its strategic acquisition to control seasoning production, capacity expansion, innovative product launches, and focus on health-conscious and plant-based offerings collectively indicate a robust approach to expanding its flavor portfolio and global brand presence—including likely further development of sweet-spicy combinations synonymous with their signature products.
- The trademark filing for "Buldak Swicy" by Samyang Foods suggests a possible expansion of their product range, potentially including items from finance (investments in technology for plant-based offerings and AI-based sugar reduction) and business (acquisition of a sauce maker, GnF, and capacity expansion with new factories).
- The popularity of the "swicy" flavor profile, evident in products like Buldak noodles, has attracted global attention and could be a significant part of Samyang's lifestyle and food-and-drink offerings, contributing to their financial growth as they target health-conscious consumers while remaining competitive in the global market.
