In a video on TikTok last 12 months, a young girl from Texas is seen opening her birthday presents, breaking down in completely satisfied tears at one specific gift: a pink multipack of her favorite fast ramen, Buldak’s carbonara variety. Samyang Foods, the maker of Buldak, sprung into motion because the video went viral. Just a month later, the brand engineered one other moment designed for virality, delivering a Buldak-themed party — and an enormous supply of ramen — on to the young girl’s house in a custom pink truck.
“This activation was an example of engagement with our fans,” said Sarah Tang, marketing director at Samyang America. “We try to construct community with our audience — not only promoting. As much as they love us, we try to point out our appreciation.”
Consumer love for Samyang and its Buldak products is real: Numerator recently named it the highest brand within the U.S. amongst Gen Alpha, calling it “a cultural and culinary phenomenon” among the many cohort, which incorporates consumers born starting in 2010. Samyang ranked ahead of brands like Owala water bottles, Dr. Squatch soap and Fortnite.
The rating is validation of the work Samyang, which released South Korea’s first-ever fast ramen in 1963, has done to grow beyond a distinct segment Korean food brand right into a favorite of younger consumers who increasingly reach for spicy foods.
The company launched its U.S. affiliate in 2021 and worked to lift the brand’s profile at retailers including Costco, Walmart and Target. At the top of 2023, Samyang was in lower than 10,000 stores; by the top of last 12 months, it was in greater than 22,000. The addition of a marketing team a bit greater than a 12 months ago has helped turn viral engagement right into a real-world footprint.
“If we couldn’t achieve a powerful retail extension, we might not have this success when it comes to results,” Tang explained. “Brands which are extremely popular within the social world… it’s hard to make it in real-life without an omnichannel strategy.”
Tapping into brand love
Samyang America’s marketing team is lean but agile, which makes it easy for the brand to tap into viral moments just like the one with the girl in Texas. But it still relies on a collaborative relationship with the corporate’s South Korea headquarters to place resources behind its marketing.
“Without their support, we might not have the option to do [the activations] as we’re still a small organization,” Tang said. “We work very closely and it’s a really cooperative relationship when it comes to marketing operations.”
Samyang is investing in digital as a part of an omnichannel strategy that can even include a brand-owned platform that captures consumer feedback and brand love in a single place. The company can also be a pair of growing channels that proceed to converge, tapping into CTV and dealing to have a greater presence on retail media networks owned by Walmart, Target and Kroger.
It has also embraced experiential marketing, a tactic that has returned to full force after a pullback in the course of the height of the pandemic. Elevating sampling with in-person activations has helped Samyang move beyond fast ramen into the sauce category. In October and November, Samyang rolled out a wide range of activations in New York and Los Angeles as a part of its “Splash Buldak” campaign, which featured mascot appearances and “sauce exchange” pop-ups that allowed consumers to trade in old take-out sauce packets without cost Buldak Hot Sauce.
Experiential has also helped the brand meet viral moments, even ones not as positive as a bit girl’s brand love. Last June, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration briefly recalled several varieties of Buldak, claiming that the degrees of capsaicin — the chemical in peppers that make them spicy — were too high and will poison consumers. Once the ban was lifted on two of the products, Samyang helped Danish consumers have a good time the return of the products by setting sail on the “Buldak Spicy Ferry” in Copenhagen’s harbor.
“It was a strategic move to interrupt the narrative,” Tang said. “We tried to play in a [fun] way after a regulatory challenge and likewise reaffirm that we care about you as much as you care about us.”
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