Kimchi refrigerator sales volume South Korea 2013-2019

In 2019, the sales volume of Kimchi refrigerators in South Korea was about 1.3 million units. Kimchi refrigerators are refrigerators designed specifically to store Kimchi at a constant temperature. They are extremely popular and found in many South Korean households. Among South Korea’s major kimchi refrigerator brands, the Dimchae brand from Dayou-Winia scored the highest in the National Brand Competitiveness Index with 77 points out of 100.

Kimchi refrigerators

Kimchi refrigerators are small refrigerators designed specifically to store Kimchi. They are extremely popular and found in many South Korean households. Some even consider them a standard appliance alongside the regular refrigerator, and many newly built homes are designed from the start to include both types of refrigerators in the kitchen. Nearly one million kimchi refrigerators were produced in Korea in 2017, and overall, over ten million units were manufactured over the proceeding decade. This means roughly one in five Koreans have a kimchi refrigerator at home.

Kimchi in Korea

The popularity of the Kimchi refrigerator comes from the popularity of Kimchi among South Koreans. Kimchi is a nearly ubiquitous side dish and is also included as ingredients in traditional Korean dishes such as soups, noodles, and many more. In 2019, Korea’s Kimchi market amounted to 1.45 trillion South Korean won. The top two kimchi makers, Daesang and CJ, dominated the market with around 116 billion won and 104 billion won in sales each.