Both ‘Bibigo,’ which has captured the taste of Americans, and ‘Olive Young,’ which has established itself as an essential course for tourists, share commonalities in their paths to success. The first is that they started as brands selling experiences, and the second is that they actively engaged in consumer communities and marketing.
On the 11th, at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Josun Hotel in Seoul, Noh Hee-young, representative of FNB LAB, explained, “The approach of selling value and experiences to consumers was a key factor in the success of both brands,” during the ’2025 ChosunBiz Consumer and Retail Forum.'
Noh provided a detailed explanation of the birth process of Bibigo, a brand that she had planned from the beginning. Noh said, “Bibigo was created with the goal of globalizing Korean cuisine from the start,” adding, “I thought there was an opportunity to penetrate the U.S. dumpling market, where the Chinese frozen dumpling ‘tingting’ had held the number one position for 25 years.”
She continued, “At that time, there was a widespread perception both domestically and internationally that dumplings were Chinese food, and when I suggested using dumplings to pursue globalization of Korean cuisine, I was met with skepticism about why we would attempt to globalize Korean cuisine through Chinese food. However, I believed there would be a chance to win over consumers by presenting dumplings as something they could easily prepare at home from a consumer experience perspective.”
This consideration stems from the fact that the top dumpling in the U.S. market at that time, tingting, was frequently served fried in Chinese restaurants.
However, there were trials as well. Noh noted, “In order to be displayed in American supermarket chains, we had to pay expenses to a middle agency to get shelf space.” She said, “Even well-established corporations struggled with this, but CJ CheilJedang’s acquisition of the American food company Schwan’s opened up new avenues.”
Regarding Olive Young’s method of success, she mentioned the creation of experience-oriented stores. This strategy of providing shopping experiences based on functionality, emotion, fun, and data was effectively implemented in its Myeongdong location. Olive Young transformed its Myeongdong store into an experience-oriented store in 2012 to allow customers to directly interact with a variety of products and attract foreign tourists.
Noh added, “We included a testable sample zone with attention to mirrors and lighting to make shopping fun, and we strengthened in-store consumer experiences (UX) with skin diagnostic devices and fragrance experiences. Additionally, discovering many small brands like Dr. Jart+ and Dr. G has contributed to our growth.” Recently, Olive Young has established itself as an essential stop for overseas tourists. Foreign sales increased by 73% compared to the previous year.
Finally, Noh expressed, “Bibigo is a brand that I planned from the beginning, and Olive Young was a brand that underwent renovation mid-way. Both have grown into mega-brands generating annual sales of around 4 trillion won, which I take great pride in.” He emphasized, “To succeed in branding moving forward, we must ensure the combination of brand and platform, active marketing activities utilizing fandom, and the ability to provide value and philosophy.”