Gangwon State Expands Entry into Japanese Distribution Market, Supporting Food Companies in Developing Sales Channels

【Financial News Chuncheon=Kim Ki-seop】Fifteen food companies from Gangwon have begun efforts to enter the Japanese distribution market.
According to Gangwon State on the ninth, an export consultation event with invited Japanese buyers was held that day at BENIKEA Chuncheon Bears Hotel in Chuncheon, jointly organized with the Gangwon Economic Promotion Agency and Gangwon Export. The event was arranged to help food companies in the province that have excellent products but struggle to develop overseas sales channels enter Japan and expand opportunities to do business with local distributors.
Fifteen food companies from the province participated, introducing their products and holding one-on-one consultations on export terms and local distribution strategies. Food buyers from Yuras, a Japanese food importer, and Lopia, a major supermarket chain, assessed the competitiveness of the local companies’ products and their potential for entering the Japanese market.
Gangwon Export, Seoul Food, and Seoraksan Green Food signed an MOU with Yuras Korea, Yuras’s Korean entity, to expand the supply and distribution of products in the Japanese market. Under the agreement, the local companies will stably supply competitive products, while Yuras Korea will distribute them through local distribution networks in Japan.
Yuras and Lopia are key affiliates of OIC Group, a comprehensive food distribution company with annual sales of approximately 6 trillion won. Yuras discovers products from around the world, develops private-label products, and supplies them through its distribution network, while Lopia operates more than 160 stores in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Gangwon State plans to manage follow-up consultations and monitor export progress so that the event and the agreement lead to actual exports and sustained business relationships. It also plans to strengthen cooperation with Japanese distributors and continuously identify and introduce competitive companies and products from the province.
Kim Moon-gi, director of Gangwon State’s Economic Bureau, said, "We will provide practical support ranging from identifying local buyers to export consultations and connecting companies with distribution networks." He added, "I hope this consultation event will serve as an opportunity to introduce more Gangwon products to Japanese consumers and help them enter local distribution networks."

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter