‘Malaysians love Korean food and the spicier the better!’
SINCE the first Korean drama landed on Malaysian shores, Korean culture has steadily seeped into the hearts of many Malaysians. From K-dramas to pop music to cuisine, the interest for everything Korean especially food continues to surge, according a recent search trend finding by 11street. To ensure that Malaysians continue to have their Korean food satiated, 11street reinforces its partnership with K Market, a subsidiary of KMT Trading Sdn. Bhd. and importer and distributor of Korean products in Malaysia, to offer not only Korean food items but also halal ones especially for its Muslim shoppers.
“The insight we obtained from the market confirmed what we have known for a while now, that Malaysians love Korean food. It revealed that Malaysians often search for Korean food items such as ramyun, chigae, chimek and samgyupsal. On top of that, we noted that a commonly recurring word among these searches on 11street is ‘spicy’, which goes to exemplify Malaysians’ love for spicy food."
Bruce Lim, Vice President of Merchandising for 11street points out: “In fact, ‘heat’ is a common ground between Malaysian and Korean foods, which is why we at 11street have ramped up our spicy Korean food offerings on our platform, to enable our shoppers to find what they love. Through this partnership with K Market, we also took this effort up a notch by introducing products that are halal so that our Muslim shoppers continue to shop with us at ease.”
Echoes Matthew Lee, Group Managing Director of KMT Trading Sdn. Bhd.: “Two years ago when we decided to open a Korean supermarket in Kuala Lumpur, we were motivated by the growing Korean community in the area. Essentially, we wanted to bring a piece of home closer to them but we certainly did not foresee the steady stream of Malaysians frequenting our store. We realised that in order for us to cater to more Korean food lovers out there, it is more effective that we partner a reputable online marketplace such as 11street. To date, we are happy to continue supplying Malaysians with the Korean foods they love through 11street, as well as introduce new ones that are hot off the shelves from Korea.”
Dae-bak Korean food galore
According to 11street, the sale of Korean food items on its platform has doubled since its inception in April 2015, with the 26 to 35 age group contributing on average 40% of total Korean food sale in 2016.
Among the top five items often purchased from its platform are Pepero, a cookie stick dipped in chocolate; ramyun, also known as instant noodles; kimchi, a fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables; toppoki, a type of soft rice cake; and milkis, a popular carbonated beverage in South Korea.
Other popular Korean food items that are highly sought after by 11street shoppers are banana milk, red pepper powder for kimchi making and healthy vinegar drink.
“Malaysians are always on the lookout for good deals and great prices, and 11street is more than happy to realise this for our consumers. We aim to bridge the gap between demand and supply, by bringing in the latest Korean food trends for the enjoyment of our shoppers,” concludes Lim.
Starting from November 3 onwards, selected Korean specialty products, such as soy bean paste of different flavours, kimchi, toppoki, pancake mix, frying batter and low sodium salt will be available at discounted prices up to 15%. In conjunction with Pepero Day, where Koreans exchange Peperos with their loved ones as a token of their best wishes, 11street is also offering up to 30% discount on an assortment of Peperos.
For more information and to discover more Korean food items, please visit the K Market store on 11street at http://www.11street.my/store/kmarket.