New U.S. Pork Loin Products Launched in South Korea’s Institutional Sector

USMEF partners with institutional meal service provider on product development and promotional launch for six branded U.S. pork loin products.

Pork industry efforts to develop opportunities for the loin are moving forward in Korea's institutional sector, which provides meals to an estimated 25% of Koreans each day. USMEF partnered with Korea's largest foodservice and catering company, Samsung Welstory, to develop and launch six U.S. pork loin products for institutional buyers under "Welclassic," its new private brand for donkatsu products. This marks the first launch of U.S. pork products under a private brand in Korea's institutional meal service sector.

Donkatsu is a variation of Japanese tonkatsu. While both are breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet dishes, donkatsu is more budget-friendly. It is pounded flat, making it much wider and thinner, and typically covered in sauce.

A marketing challenge for the new U.S. pork products is that consumers traditionally associate donkatsu with chilled domestic product. Restaurants and retailers often promote the usage of domestic pork loin in their donkatsu dishes and products. But USMEF Korea Director Junil Park says Samsung Welstory recognizes the competitive advantages of U.S. pork loin, including its flavor, pricing and stable supply.

"Donkatsu is a popular dish in Korea, particularly in the institutional sector. But rising labor costs and kitchen staff shortages compel meal service operators to use prepared products," says USMEF Korea Director Junil Park. "We partnered in developing flavorful donkatsu products made with U.S. pork loin that are not pre-fried, and could be marketed and distributed to high volume corporate cafeterias and contract catering companies."

For the launch, USMEF collaborated with Samsung Welstory on several promotional incentives:

• A cooking oil sales incentive was rolled out to institutional buyers to kick off the campaign;

• A recipe contest was conducted with targeted dietitians responsible for menu planning and purchasing across nationwide corporate cafeterias;

• Promotional events were held at 39 corporate cafeterias for three weeks. A total of 10,420 Welclassic donkatsu meals were served using the winning recipes from the contest;

• Institutional customers who ordered a predetermined volume of Welclassic donkastu were entered into a special raffle.

Welclassic donkatsu was also highlighted in a special feature of Samsung Welstory's industry publication.

Product development and promotional support was made possible with support by USDA.