CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea’s top producer of processed food, has laid out a new business goal with a focus on home meal replacement offerings as its future growth engine.

On Wednesday, the company said its initial target revenue from its direct-to-consumer HMR business is 3.6 trillion won ($3.2 billion) by 2020, with 40 percent of if coming from overseas.

“The HMR market will continue to grow fast and we will go out to meet consumer demands by developing technology and offering delicious meals at a reasonable price,” said CJ Cheiljedang chief executive Kim Chul-ha.

The Korean food maker made its first step into the HMR market by introducing a cooked rice product in 1996. Since then, it has continued to offer a variety of HMR products. Sales from the business sector topped 1.1 trillion won last year, with 900 billion won at home and 200 billion won overseas.

The company expects its HMR revenue will jump 40 percent on-year to hit 1.5 trillion won this year.

R&D spending in the sector reached 120 billion won over the last five years. The company said it will inject another 200 billion won or more by 2020 to develop more appealing products to consumers.

By Kim Byung-ho

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]