CJ Foods to build new mandu factory in Japan

Construction is expected to finish by July.

South Korea’s CJ Foods has announced that it will invest about $73b (KRW100b) to build a new mandu (Korean dumpling) factory in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

The factory will occupy 42,000 square meters and feature advanced production lines. Construction is expected to finish by July, with production starting in September.

The move aims to strengthen CJ Foods’ presence in Japan’s frozen dumpling market, valued at around $800m (JPY114b) annually.

CJ plans to produce its popular bibigo mandu and new convenience products for nationwide distribution.

Japan is a key market for CJ Foods, where products like bibigo mandu and gimbap are already sold at major retailers including AEON, Costco, Amazon, and Rakuten. In 2023, bibigo gimbap sold 2.5 million units in Japan.

CJ Foods is also expanding production in other regions. It will open a new factory in Hungary by late 2026 and is building a large Asian food complex in South Dakota, USA, set to open in 2027.

The company currently operates 20 plants in the U.S., four mandu factories in Japan, a production base in Germany, and facilities in Vietnam and Australia.

The expansion supports CJ Foods’ goal to grow its global K-food business by increasing local production capacity and meeting rising demand.