Binggrae Co., Ltd. (), is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n food and beverage corporation that manufactures

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

, milk products, and snacks. Binggrae was founded in 1967 by Hong Soon-ji as Daeil Corporation (). The B in the Binggrae Logo is modeled after a heart. Binggrae_logo

History

1960–1999

Hong Soon-ji () founded Daeil Corporation on September 13, 1967. Hong had founded the company with experience from making ice cream in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and selling it to the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in the 1960s. In 1971, Hong changed the name of the company to Daeil Dairy. In 1972, Daeil Dairy made a technological partnership with Foremost McKesson Inc., a company based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Due to handling issues, the Korea Explosives Group (later known as the

Hanwha group , former_name = Korea Explosives Group , type = Public , traded_as = , industry = Conglomorate , founded = , founder = Kim Chong-hee , hq_location_city = Seoul , hq_location_country = South Korea , area_served = Global , key_people = ...

) acquired Daeil Dairy in 1973. Donong Plant 1 was also completed in

Namyangju Namyangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri City, and to the north is Pocheon City. Namyangju-si was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun ...

in 1973. In 1974, Binggrae's first mainstream products were released. (투게더), the first carton ice cream product made from raw milk in Korea was released in January of that year, and

Banana Flavored Milk Banana Flavored Milk ( ko, 바나나맛 우유) is a South Korean milk beverage produced by Binggrae in Korea. Name The name "Banana Mat Uyu" ( ko, 바나나맛 우유) in Korean translates as Banana Flavored Milk. Flavor The beverage consists o ...

(바나나 맛 우유), a milk beverage was released in June. Starting in 1977, Daeil entered the fermented milk business (

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

). In 1976, the partnership with Foremost Inc. ended, and the trademark was changed to Binggrae due to the

Korean Language Purification Movement Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

. In 1978, Daeil was listed on the

Korea Stock Exchange Korea Exchange (KRX) is the sole securities exchange operator in South Korea. It is headquartered in Busan, and has an office for cash markets and market oversight in Seoul. History The Korea Exchange was created through the integration of Ko ...

. In 1982, Daeil Dairies was then renamed to Binggrae. The

Gimhae Gimhae () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim clans in Korea. The Gimhae Kims claim descent from the ancient royal house of Geumgwan Gaya, which was based in Gim ...

Plant was completed in 1982. In 1984, Binggrae made a partnership with

Nissin Foods Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food company that specializes in the production and sale of convenience food and instant noodles. History Founding and early years The company was established in Japan on September 1, 1948, by ...

to develop instant ramen, subsequently releasing urijib (우리집) ramen in 1986. In 1987, Binggrae opened the Binggrae Food Research Center and was designated as the official ice cream for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 1991, Ssamanco (싸만코), an ice cream version of

bungeo-ppang ''Bungeo-ppang'' (; "carp bread") is a fish-shaped pastry stuffed with sweetened red bean paste, which originated from the Japanese taiyaki. One of South Korea's most popular winter street foods, the snack is often sold at street stalls, gril ...

that contains red beans was released. Binggrae declared independence from the Hanwha group in 1992. In January of that year,

Melona Melona (메로나) is a South Korean ice pop, manufactured by Binggrae Co. Ltd. Although the product is called "Melona" and is identified by its melon flavor, the ice pop also comes in other fruit flavors, such as strawberry and coconut. Each 80 ...

(메로나, Pronounced Merona), a creamy

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

ice cream was released. In 1993, Binggrae was designated as the official ramen and ice cream supplier of the Daejeon Expo.

2000–present

In April 2003, Binggrae made a business alliance with

Samyang Foods Samyang Foods Co., Ltd. is an international South Korean food manufacturer and the first instant ramen company in South Korea. Samyang Food was founded on September 15, 1961 by Jeon Jung Yoon. In 1963, Samyang Food debuted the first Korean insta ...

, and moved its

ramen is a Japanese dish, Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese ...

business to

Pulmuone Pulmuone Co., Ltd. ( ko, 풀무원) () is a South Korean company that produces plant-based foods such as tofu and soybean sprouts. It was founded in 1981, is based in Seoul, South Korea and sells its products both within Korea as well as internati ...

in the same month. As of 2010, around 5.3 billion bottles of Banana Flavored Milk have been sold across the country. Binggrae acquired

Haitai Haitai (Hangul: 해태, Hanja: 海陀) is a South Korean company based in Seoul. Its main businesses are retail and instant foods, especially confectionery, beverage and ice cream. The company was founded on October 3, 1945, and employs 3900 p ...

Ice Cream Co., Ltd. March 2020. As a result of the acquisition, Binggrae now holds 40.7% of the South Korean Ice cream market, and sales rose 19.6% in 2021 to 1.14 trillion won (US$949 million). Additionally, 70% of South Korean Ice cream exports to the United States were Binggrae products as of 2020. December 2021, Binggrae started working with ramen manufacturer to re-launch their ramen. Binggrae acquired backed by an argument to the Fair Trade Commission that it should greenlight the acquisition proposal because it would block Lotte Confectionery from monopolizing the South Korean ice cream market and raising prices. After the acquisition, Binggrae increased ice cream prices (effectively annulling their promise). Binggrae raised the prices of products such as "Together" and "Melona" by 25 percent. Its rival Lotte Confectionery also increased the prices of some of its products by the same percentage, thus making the ice cream market more expensive. Binggrae justified the price hikes with rising costs of imported materials. The company was fined 135 billion won for price fixing in 2022.

Marketing

In the late 1980s to mid 1990s, Binggrae relied on television advertisements to spread its products. It promoted urijib ramen by advertising it as the first ramen to contain

tocopherol Tocopherols (; TCP) are a class of organic chemical compounds (more precisely, various methylated phenols), many of which have vitamin E activity. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, i ...

(1986), and promoted its "new" ramen by advertising it as a chemical free ramen (1996). Recently, Binggrae has turned to

Korean idol An idol () refers to a type of celebrity working in the field of K-pop in fandom culture in South Korea, either as a member of a group or as a solo act. K-pop idols are characterized by the highly manufactured star system that they are produced b ...

s and

actors An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

to promote its products. It promoted "super cone" with the Kpop group

Wanna One Wanna One () was a South Korean boy band formed by CJ E&M through the second season of ''Produce 101''. The group was composed of eleven members: Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Lee Dae-hwi, Kim Jae-hwan, Ong Seong-wu, Park Woo-jin, Lai Kuan-lin, Yo ...

in 2018, and estimated its sales would reach 10 billion won in sales by the end of the year, its Banana Flavored Milk with actor

Ju Ji-hoon Ju Ji-hoon (born May 16, 1982) is a South Korean actor and model. His first leading role was in the 2006 hit drama ''Princess Hours''. His other notable works include ''The Devil'', '' Antique'', ''Mask'', '' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'' ...

in 2021, and its

Yoplait Yoplait ( , ) is the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is jointly owned by American food conglomerate General Mills and French dairy cooperative Sodiaal. History In 1964, 100,000 French farmers agreed to merge six regional dairy coo ...

products with actress

Lee Se-young Lee Se-young (; born December 20, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress in 1997 and was best known for her roles in ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003), '' When I Turned Nine'' (2004), ''Lovely Rivals'' (2004), and ''The Wonder ...

starting in 2022. In order to compete with other food and beverage corporations, Binggrae has created its own "in-universe" with a backstory and characters. According to the

JoongAng Ilbo ''The JoongAng'', formally known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'', is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also publ ...

, Binggrae has made Prince Binggraeus, a character, "the embodiment of Binggrae's identity". Prince Binggraeus is stylized to make parts of his outfit resemble and represent its products. For example, he carries a staff that is partially made of Melona and the tip being their crab snack kkotgerang (꽃게랑). Due to the "in-universe" advertisement campaign, Binggrae became the first South Korean food and beverage company to accumulate over 100,000 subscribers on

Youtube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Main products

Dairy: Banana Flavored Milk (1974), Yoplait (1983), Yoplait Dr. Capsule, Greek Yogurt Yopa, Acaffera, Oprut, True Milk Ice Cream: Together (1974), Melona (1992), (1989), BB Big (1975), (1991), Cledor, Babambar (originally Haitai's), (2004), , Ppongta Snacks: Crab Snack (꽃게랑, 1986) File:Binggrae Banana Flavored Milk 03.jpg, Banana Flavored Milk (and other flavors) File:Melona.jpg, Melona bars out of wrapper File:Outlook of Bung-er Samanco, Carp Ice Waffle.png, Bungeo Ssamanco

Awards

* Binggrae's Together was selected for the grand prize at the 13th Korea National Brand awards, amounting to it holding this position for 11 consecutive years. * Binggrae placed #268 on

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

' "2021 edition of World's Best Employers" * By 2020, Binggrae has held the No.1 in the KCSI (Korean Satisfaction Index) in the ice cream category for 14 consecutive years. * By 2020: 1st place in KBPI brand power for 12 consecutive years (Banana milk) * June 2014: 1st place in the ice cream category for the 5th consecutive year as a safe food company * April 2014: Received the NBA National Brand Awards Together for 3 consecutive years in the ice cream category * March 2014: Awarded the top prize in Gyeongsangnam-do agricultural and fishery products export tower * October 2013: Received the grand prize in the marketing sector at the Korea Management Awards (Korea Management Association Consulting) * September 2012: Ranked 1st in Korea's top safe food company for 3 consecutive years * March 2010: Awarded the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit (Taxpayer's Day) * November 2009: Awarded the Transparent Management Grand Prize (selected by the Korea Accounting Information Society) * March 2008: Received the Grand prize of corporate ethics management (by the Korea Academy of Business Ethics) * Dec. 2004: Received the grand prize in the value management by the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (KMAC) * September 2004: 1st in the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) (milk, fermented milk sector) * Apr. 2000: Yoplait, Together, ranked 1st in Korea's brand power (Korea Management Association Consulting) * November 1999: Selected as 'Banana Flavored Milk', a product exhibition that brightened Korea in the 20th century President

Lee Myung-Bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

has mentioned Binggrae as "The food and beverage company Binggrae and the National Pension Service, are taking the initiative and setting a good example in hiring people with disabilities." Binggrae was awarded the presidential commendation at the '2020 Low-Carbon Living Practice Online National Congress' for contributing to carbon neutrality

Subsidiaries

* BC F&B Shanghai Co., Ltd. Founded August 2014 * BC F&B USA Corp. Founded July 2016 * BC F&B Vietnam Co., Ltd. Founded September 2019 * Haitai Ice Cream Co., Ltd. Acquired March 2020

Headquarters and branches

Binggrae has 4 production plants: The Namyangju Plant, Gimhae Plant,

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

Plant, and

Nonsan Nonsan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddies ...

Plant. * Headquarters: 11-12F, B Building, 19, Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu (Jeong-dong 34–5, Baejaejeong-dong Building), Seoul * Food Research Center and Namyangju Factory: 45 Dasanhwan-ro ( Dasan-dong), Namyangju-si,

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

* Gyeonggi Gwangju Factory: 23, Dokgogae-gil 86beon-gil, Gonjiam-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do (Samri) * Nonsan Factory: 1413–9, Dongan-ro, Gayagok-myeon, Nonsan-si,

Chungcheongnam-do South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located in ...

(Yachon-ri) * Gimhae Factory: 768, Gomoro, Hallim-myeon, Gimhae-si,

Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

(Byeongdong-ri)

Notes

References

{{Binggrae South Korean companies established in 1967 Companies listed on the Korea Exchange Food and drink companies of South Korea Manufacturing companies based in Seoul Food and drink companies established in 1967