Laver, Change from a black paper into a semiconductor in the sea

Laver is a product which ranks first in exports across all agricultural and marine products in South Korea. In 2021, its exports reached 692.8 million dollars (889.6 billion won), which is an increase of 15.4% compared to 2020. The market as well as exports also expanded. With the spread of the Korean culture, export markets have expanded to Portugal, Cyprus, Bhutan, etc., helping export Korean laver to as many as 114 countries across the world. That is why laver gets a new nickname, ‘a semiconductor in the sea’.

Of course, laver was not a product which greatly contributed to export from the beginning. In these days, laver has become famous as super food while it has been recognized for its nutritional excellent that it is low in calories and high in protein, but from when laver was first put on the export market until just a few years ago, it had been called weeds in the sea, the black paper, in the Western world.

It is true that laver wins the fame as now because lots of companies have actively conducted marketing while showing a variety of high value-added products satisfying the taste of people in the world such as snack laver, kimbugak, etc. and acquiring a variety of certifications meeting the international food safety standards, but going back in time, we cannot leave out the efforts of the first-generation export companies which pioneered a barren export market with a load of laver in the late 1980s, when the government fully supported the laver export business. From the start of the laver export history to these days, we met the president of Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd., Choi, Jung Kyu, who has tried to introduce the excellence of Korean laver while soundly running the company.

 

From Seaweed to Processing – In Pursuit of the Best Taste of Laver

As Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd located in Hwaseong-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea is a laver manufacturing company founded in 1988, it is the first-generation laver manufacturing company which has supplied only the best seaweed grown in the West sea to produce high-quality traditional laver for over 30 years with its goal, ‘Let’s take the lead in creating the food culture which makes all consumers ranging from children to adults happy and satisfied on the table. br>
In the production plant of about 1650㎡ (about 500 pyung) equipped with automated facilities of 6 roasting machines, 4 cutting machines and 14 packaging machines, laver’s taste and quality are maintained and its annual production is about 130 tons and its annual exports is about 5 billion won. In the country, the products are sold through department stores, big marts, online shopping malls, etc. and they are mainly exported to about 20 countries across the world including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. The company won the Export Tower of 1 Million Dollars’in 2002, 2009 and 2010, won the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit and others in 2003 and obtained HACCP, FSSC22000, Halal certification, etc.

 

 

△ Outside View of Office Building and Plant of Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd

Alchan Roasted Kimbab Kim with Seaweed’s Own Taste

The product that the company got K·FISH certification is ‘Alchan Roasted Kimbab Kim’. For laver for gimbap, only seaweed is roasted twice without seasoning and other food additives, which makes you enjoy the healthier and savory taste. According to Mr. Choi, only when laver for gimbap is moderately hard enough to keep its shape when you cut it with a knife or pick it up with chopsticks and it spreads softly without feeling tough when you eat it, it can be said that it has good marketability, but all seaweed produced in South Korea is not suitable for making laver for gimbap. He emphasized that because there are separate characteristics of seaweed which can be used to make the best laver for gimbap, the most important thing is an ability to select them.

“We can always keep the best taste and scent because we purchase only seaweed produced between mid-January and February 20 off the coast of Seocheon, store it at -18℃ or below and use it all the year around. In addition, we have know-how to roast seaweed by finely controlling temperature by 1~2℃ depending on its characteristics, so we are confident that anyone can enjoy the best taste of laver with our products.”

Apart from other products such as laver for lunch, seasoned laver, etc., he first obtained K·FISH certification for laver for gimbap because he has a great ambition to advance into the Sushi laver market. The Sushi laver market is formed based on Japan, but seaweed is imported from South Korea. Since the added value is low when only seaweed is exported, he plans to let the whole world know the taste of Korean laver while competing after getting K·․FISH certification which is commonly used in the world for high-quality laver for gimbap directly produced by his company.

 

 

△ Roasted Kimbab Kim with K·FISH Certification

Premium Laver Strategy for 30 years, Known by Buyers First

For Mr. Choi, he did not start to manufacture laver products from the beginning. As he operated the largest seaweed store in the West coast and directly did laver farming, he naturally jumped into the laver manufacturing business and established plants based on the ambition to grow up with local residents including job creation, etc. With know-how and an eye for seaweed, he has established himself as the first-generation manufacturer who created seasoned laver, laver snack, mugami laver, etc. including traditional laver based on the operating philosophy of making ‘food which promotes South Korea’, a living witness in the history of Korean laver industry.

One of the company’s export principles is to adhere to a premium laver strategy. In pursuit of the real taste of Korean traditional laver, high-quality raw and subsidiary materials are contained and accordingly, the unit price is naturally high. He said that many companies reduce quality and a price amid keen competition between laver companies, but buyers which have been trading with his company for nearly 30 years all say ‘regardless of a price, please maintain quality’

“It is said that some customers visit a store with our product’s wrapping paper and ask ‘where can I buy this laver?’. I think they recognize the original taste of laver we deliver. If we lower the quality of laver because of price competition or produce laver by adding other seasoning, we cannot make the original taste of Korean laver. We are stubborn only to properly deliver the taste of traditional laver.”

 

 

△ Various Products of Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd

Plan to Grow the Export Market with Lactic Acid Bacteria-containing New Product

He will release a new product which can expand the export market. As a probiotics lactic acid bacteria-containing product, it is an innovative product that substances with the functions of lactic acid bacteria suppress the activities of harmful bacteria to prevent laver from being deteriorated, nearly doubling the shelf life. Considering the characteristics of laver which oxidizes and smells only after 6 months, it means that if the shelf life is extended, its original taste can be delivered for a longer time. It shows his insistence on spreading the excellent taste of Korean laver.

 

 

△ All Kinds of Certificates for Targeting the Export Market

“If we export products and their taste is deteriorated, people will not eat it, thinking ‘Korean laver smells weird and tastes bad’. We have studied for over 2 years to make a new product which preserves the original taste for a long time. Based on this new product and laver for gimbap, we will constantly make efforts to conquer the global market and excel the Japanese companies.”

■ Information related to Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd

△ CI of Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd

▷ Address :12-9, Geumgyedong-gil, Hwaseong-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea
▷ Inquiry : Tel.1588-5010     Fax.041)943-3787
▷ E-mail : daehantd@hanmail.net
▷ Homepage : www.ajseaweed.com

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As Alchan Jaerae Kim Co., Ltd located in Hwaseong-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea is a laver manufacturing company founded in 1988, it is the first-generation laver manufacturing company which has supplied only the best seaweed grown in the West sea to produce high-quality traditional laver for over 30 years with its goal, ‘Let’s take the lead in creating the food culture which makes all consumers ranging from children to adults happy and satisfied on the table.