CJ Foods recently inaugurated its new mandu production plant in Japan at Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture. Built on a 42,000-square-meter site roughly the size of six soccer fields, the factory covers about 8,200 square meters and represents an investment of approximately ₩100 billion KRW (US $73 million) by the Seoul, Korea-headquartered company.
Outfitted with state-of-the-art lines, the facility is producing bibigo brand mandu (dumplings) for nationwide distribution. Since 2020, CJ Foods has operated four mandu factories in Japan at Osaka, Gunma, Akita and Fukuoka through its acquisition of Gyoza Keikaku. The Chiba plant marks the company’s first direct investment in a manufacturing facility in Japan.
CJ Foods plans to leverage the Chiba factory to accelerate its localization strategy, ensuring more efficient sourcing of raw materials and product supply, while driving the expansion of its business. In particular, Japan’s frozen dumpling market — valued at approximately ₩1.1 trillion (US $825 million) annually — offers significant growth potential, as more than half of the market consists of gyoza-style dumplings, which are similar to bibigo mandu. Consumer demand for bibigo mandu has risen sharply in recent years, contributing to a nearly 28% year-on-year increase in CJ Foods’ dumpling sales in Japan during the first half of 2025. Over the same period, the company’s overall food sales in the country grew by about 27%.
The new factory’s official opening ceremony was attended by key executives, including CJ Foods Vice Chairman Kang Sin-ho and Food Business Unit CEO Dr. Gregory Yep, as well as officials from Chiba Prefecture and Kisarazu City.
Mr. Kang remarked: “The Chiba plant represents an important step forward for both the growth and sustainability of our business in Japan. Through constant effort and innovation, we will further accelerate the global expansion of K-food.”
CJ Foods plans to position Japan as its next key overseas market after the USA, reinforcing its role as a pioneer of K-food and hastening its global expansion. To this end, the company has signed a business agreement with the Food Company branch of Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation. Through this partnership, the two organizations will join forces to expand their business in Japan and beyond. ITOCHU is one of Japan’s largest general trading companies, with a nationwide distribution network and ownership of several prominent brands, including Nippon Access — the country’s largest food distributor — and the major convenience store chain FamilyMart.
“Building on the strategy that established us as the No. 1 dumpling brand in the United States., we will bring the same success to Japan. With products designed to meet local preferences, we are ready to extend the bibigo mandu phenomenon,” stated a CJ Foods representative.
Japan has been designated as a key strategic market for the further expansion of K-food. Earlier this year, CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-Hyun selected the neighboring nation for his first overseas visit of 2025, where he commented: “the renewed popularity of the Korean wave, or Hallyu, in Japan is not just a fad, but a critical opportunity to take K-culture to the next level.”
He added: “CJ businesses in Japan, such as bibigo, should be prepared to take hold of this opportunity. We must accelerate localization and the construction of global infrastructure to increase our competitiveness and position ourselves as a global leader.”
In Japan, CJ Foods products such as bibigo mandu, frozen gimbap, and K-sauces are sold through major retail channels including AEON, Costco, Amazon, Rakuten, Don Quijote and Ito-Yokado. Notably, bibigo gimbap — first launched in Japan in 2023 — proved immensely popular, with approximately 2.5 million units sold last year at AEON and Costco retail outlets.
