CJ Cheiljedang beefs up food business in U.S. by establishing world's biggest frozen pizza factory

[Courtesy of CJ Cheiljedang]

SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, South Korea's major food company under CJ Group, has beefed up its food business in the United States by building the world's largest frozen pizza manufacturing facility. The food company targets the North, Central, and South American markets with frozen Pizza, frozen dumplings, and other Korean menus.
 
In a bid to attract customers in the American market, CJ Cheiljedang acquired Schwan's Company, a frozen food manufacturer headquartered in Minnesota, in 2018. International sales recorded by the frozen food company now account for more than 60 percent of the South Korean food company's global sales.
 
CJ Cheiljedang said that the company finished the construction of a 40,000-square-meter-sized new production facility at Schwan's Company factory site in Salina, Kansas. The company is also expanding its logistics center in the Salina complex. The logistics center will manage the distribution of CJ Cheiljedang's pizzas and Bibigo brand frozen dumplings.
 
CJ Cheiljedang's first-quarter sales in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 18 percent compared to the same period last year. Schwan's Company recorded sales of approximately 2.2 trillion won (.6 billion) in its first year of acquisition by CJ CheilJedang in 2019. Schwan's annual sales surpassed 3 trillion won in 2022, marking a three-year high. CJ CheilJedang plans to boost its U.S. sales to 6 trillion won by 2025.
 
"Schwan's plays a crucial role as a frontline base for expanding our global food business and contributes significantly to the large-scale growth of K-Food. We will continue to enhance our capabilities to leap forward as the 'Number One Food Company in the United States,'" a CJ Cheiljedang official said in a statement on May 21.