K-food push targets $16b exports as Hanoi fair draws crowds

"We first imported tteokbokki into Vietnam in 2012 and have been distributing it ever since. Now we want to keep expanding into other Korean food products — seaweed, ramyun, health supplements and more."

Pham Thai Hy, CEO of Vietnamese food importer Phuc Thinh Food, made the remarks Thursday after wrapping up consultations with Korean exporters at the ASEAN K-Food Fair, held at the National Convention Center in Hanoi. He left with a K-food product catalog in one hand and a stack of business cards from Korean companies in the other.

Across the consultation floor, buyers sampled sauces, beverages, health supplements and ready-to-eat meals, scrutinizing ingredient labels and pressing suppliers on pricing, minimum order quantities and the feasibility of locally tailored production. Requests to "send samples first" and "schedule a follow-up meeting" were constant. It was a snapshot of Korean food companies fighting hard to help the government reach its $16 billion K-food export target.

This year's event was held for the first time alongside the 2026 Hanoi Hallyu Expo, combining business-to-business export consultations with consumer-facing experiences. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy organized the event together with the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) and KOTRA. It drew 107 Korean companies in food, cosmetics, lifestyle products and fashion, along with more than 280 buyers from Vietnam and across Southeast Asia.

Among the participating companies, F&S Food kept up a relentless pace of buyer consultations throughout the event. The company, which produces seasonings on an OEM and ODM basis, held more than 20 meetings over two days. Inquiries about halal-certified products came not only from Vietnamese buyers but also from those in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Sung Yu-jin, executive director at F&S Food, said meeting overseas buyers independently is difficult, but the fair allowed the company to hold intensive consultations with buyers from multiple countries at once. "Around 70 to 80 percent of the companies we met requested samples, and we were also able to get a direct read on Southeast Asian market trends," she said.

Yuginong Maru also came away with a clearer sense of its growth potential in the region. The company, which hit $1 million in exports within its first year of overseas sales, held 17 buyer consultations led by its konjac jelly products and signed an MOU worth $30,000. CEO Kim Sang-beom said the company aims to reach 100 billion won ($64.9 million) in sales within 10 years through rapid feedback and locally tailored product development.

Buyer consultations at the fair totaled 1,512 over three days, generating an estimated $33 million in contracts and MOUs. Vietnam is Korea's fourth-largest agricultural food export market; last year, K-food exports to the country reached about $570 million, accounting for roughly 5.5 percent of total agricultural food exports. Local demand is growing quickly, driven by steady gains not only in ramyun, sauces and beverages but also in fresh produce such as strawberries.

Local buyers cautioned, however, that as the market grows, so do the requirements for closing deals. They cited maintaining price competitiveness amid rising production costs and meeting tightened import food quality standards — including certification and customs clearance preparation — as the main challenges.

The exhibition floor was packed with consumers eager to try K-food firsthand. Long lines formed in front of the Han River ramyun cookers at the food-tech special pavilion, and visitors wandered the hall clutching Korean snacks and drinks. Booths showcasing spicy ramyun, frozen cup rice, halal tteokbokki and ade beverages drew steady foot traffic, while the Global NEXT K-Food special pavilion drew curious visitors who stopped to hear about and examine export-ready products such as ten-won bread and cream glutinous rice cakes.

Visitors who completed a QR code survey tried K-beauty makeup experiences and photo booths and sampled yuzu and jujube drinks. Cooking competitions featuring Korean seasonings drew cheers from the audience, and on one side of the hall, long lines formed for performances by K-pop groups Winner and Fifty Fifty.

Phuc, 27, a Hanoi resident who attended the event, said he came for the Winner performance and ended up trying K-food as well. "I already love tteokbokki, bibimbap and naengmyeon, so I often go to Korean restaurants with friends," he said. Thao, 32, who worked as an interpreter at the event, said in fluent Korean that many Vietnamese people once found strongly scented Korean foods like kimchi unfamiliar. "But as more people discovered Korean food through drama series and K-pop and started eating it themselves, Korean food has become hugely popular, especially among younger people," she said.

The K-food enthusiasm extended to local retail. At the Hanoi K-Mart Gyeongnam branch, visited Wednesday, local shoppers lingered in front of displays of Korean oriental melons, Shingo pears and home meal replacement products. Seaweed, ramyun and instant rice made their way into shopping baskets. K-Mart said local consumers now outnumber Korean expatriates among its shoppers, and that more young customers who first encountered Korean food through YouTube and social media are visiting stores in person. Lotte Mart's Hanoi Seoho branch has also expanded its dedicated Korean food section to keep pace with rising K-food demand.

Moon Jong-beom, CEO of K-Mart, said sustaining K-food's momentum requires a consistent effort to protect its premium image. "Just like 'Made in Italy,' 'Made in Korea' needs to become a brand that consumers trust and seek out," he said.