# CJ CheilJedang

> CJ CheilJedang is the South Korean company behind bibigo dumplings, Hetbahn rice and a sprawling pantry of sauces, seasonings and ready meals. Its less visible second engine uses microbial fermentation to make amino acids, taste and nutrition ingredients, crop inputs and PHA biopolymers. That consumer-and-science combination gives the company a distinctive place between multinational packaged-food groups, ingredient suppliers and industrial biotechnology companies.

- **Founded:** 1953
- **Headquarters:** Seoul, South Korea
- **Founders:** Lee Byung-chul (Founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 42,700 employees across reporting countries in 2024 excluding the logistics business, based on CJ CheilJedang's sustainability reporting; its LinkedIn company profile lists a 10,001+ size band.
- **Products:** bibigo, Hetbahn, Beksul, DASIDA and Haechandle, Schwan's consumer brands, BestAmino
- **Notable:** Produced Korea's first domestically manufactured sugar in 1953., Developed a nucleic-acid manufacturing method in Korea in 1979 and built decades of fermentation expertise., bibigo mandu surpassed KRW 1 trillion in global sales in 2020.

## Products & services

- **bibigo** — Global K-food brand spanning mandu, chicken, rice, sauces, seaweed, noodles and other convenient foods.
- **Hetbahn** — Shelf-stable cooked rice and related convenient-rice products, including nutrition-oriented variants.
- **Beksul, DASIDA and Haechandle** — Long-running Korean pantry brands covering staples, seasonings, sauces and fermented pastes.
- **Schwan's consumer brands** — North American frozen-food portfolio and manufacturing-distribution platform, including Red Baron, Freschetta and Tony's pizza brands.
- **BestAmino** — B2B portfolio of fermented L-type amino acids for balanced animal nutrition.
- **TasteNrich and FlavorNrich** — Fermentation-derived taste solutions for clean-label umami, flavor enhancement and masking applications.
- **BiomeNrich and AMINATURE** — Condition-specific biotics and vegan food-grade amino-acid solutions for nutrition products.
- **PHACT** — PHA biopolymers made through microbial fermentation for compostable and biodegradable material applications.
- **Plant Nutrition & Health** — Microbial biostimulants, pesticides, inoculants and bio-based fertilizer alternatives for agriculture.
- **CJ The Market** — Direct-to-consumer online store for CJ food brands in South Korea.

## Achievements

- Produced Korea's first domestically manufactured sugar in 1953.
- Developed a nucleic-acid manufacturing method in Korea in 1979 and built decades of fermentation expertise.
- bibigo mandu surpassed KRW 1 trillion in global sales in 2020.
- Acquired Schwan's Company for $1.84 billion, the largest overseas acquisition in CJ Group history at the time.
- Began commercial production of PHA and launched the PHACT brand in 2022.
- CJ Biomaterials received the Plastics Industry Association's 2025 Innovation in Bioplastics Award for a PHACT polymer used in turf infill.
- Overseas food sales reached a record KRW 5.9247 trillion in 2025 and surpassed domestic food sales for the first time.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — CJ BIO presented TasteNrich natural flavor solutions at IFT 2026, while CJ Foods launched the premium distilled-spirit brand jari in Korea.
- **2026-06** — CJ Foods announced a commercial land-based gim cultivation facility and expanded bibigo in Thailand; Hetbahn also highlighted a low-protein rice variant.
- **2026-05** — CJ Biomaterials and WinCup introduced PHACT-based foodserviceware across the CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
- **2026-05** — First-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue declined year over year and operating profit fell, reflecting continued profitability pressure.
- **2026-02** — CJ reported 2025 consolidated sales of KRW 27.3426 trillion and operating profit of KRW 1.2336 trillion; overseas food sales reached a record.
- **2025-11** — CJ Biomaterials partnered with BIQ Materials to commercialize PHA-based artificial-turf infill for Europe.
- **2025-05** — bibigo appointed SEVENTEEN as its first global brand ambassadors.

## Links

- Website: https://www.cj.co.kr/en/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cj-cheil-jedang
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CJcheiljedang/featured
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjcheiljedang/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CJcheiljedang

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/cj-cheiljedang
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13