Under the new agreement, Hyundai Green Food will lead the sales and distribution of Daiya's line of plant-based foods in South Korea, which includes more than 15 dairy-free formats including cheeze blocks, shreds, slices, sticks and cream cheeze style spreads. Hyundai Green Food will also carry Daiya's plant-based meal products like pizza and burritos, and frozen desserts, as well as shelf-stable products like mac & cheeze, deluxe cheeze sauces and dairy-free salad dressings.
A mix of Daiya's dairy-free products is available now, through Hyundai's 20 stores and e-commerce channels, carrying frozen skus including: Daiya Frozen Dessert Bars (Classic Vanilla Bean and Salted Caramel Swirl); Daiya Cheezecake (New York Cheezecake and Chocolate Cheezecake); as well as shelf-stable Daiya Dairy-Free Dressings (Homestyle Ranch, Creamy Caesar, Hon'y Mustard).
In March, phase two of the roll-out will see Hyundai Green Food store locations, grocery channels, e-commerce and natural independent stores carrying: Daiya dairy-free Cutting Board Shreds (Mozzarella Style, Cheddar Style, and Cheddar & Mozza Style Blend); plant-based Slices (Cheddar Style, Swiss Style and Provolone Style); and Blocks (Medium Cheddar Style and Smoked Gouda Style). The final phase of the roll-out, planned for April, will feature Daiya products through Hyundai's food services division.
"Since 1968 Hyundai Green Food has been a leading food distributor and catering company in South Korea. Given Daiya is a plant-based food industry leader, known as an original innovator of delicious dairy-free cheeze foods, they are an ideal partner to provide South Koreans with delicious food choices," said Byungchul Park, senior executive manager of Hyundai Green Food.
Walter Alvarenga, international business director at Daiya Foods, said, "Daiya's new sales and distribution partnership with Hyundai Green Food is another example of our pledge to invite people to gather around the table to enjoy deliciously dairy-free food that is good for people and planet.
"Hyundai Green Food is an ideal partner to help action Daiya's vision to earn a place on daily menus with plant-based food innovation that exceeds expectations for taste and texture, with appeal for recipe use and broad availability at home or when dining away from home. The fact that Hyundai Green Food shares an alike vision for access to great tasting plant-based options makes our partnership all the more important."
Daiya currently operates in more than 20 countries globally and said it will continue to expand into key international markets.
In 2020, the Korea Vegetarian Union (KVU) reported there are about 500,000 strict vegans in South Korea and about 1.5m people pursue similar plant-based diets. The KVU estimates there may be as many as 10m flexitarians in the country, which represents almost 20% of South Korea's total population.