South Korea's food industry is shifting toward marketing built on scientific evidence and technology. Companies are moving beyond appeals to emotional familiarity and long heritage, instead highlighting research and development capabilities and verified data. The strategy aims to win trust by giving consumers — increasingly focused on health and safety — concrete reasons to choose a product.
Cheil Worldwide (030000.KS) recently produced a master brand campaign for Korea Ginseng Corp.'s Cheong Kwan Jang that portrays the company evolving from a traditional health food brand into a "science solutions company," industry sources said on the 17th. After emphasizing the efficacy of individual ingredients last year, including the five certified functional benefits of Korean red ginseng, the brand this year is presenting itself as a company that designs customer health scientifically.
The campaign, built around the slogan "Cheong Kwan Jang does it. Scientifically," consists of three films on research, safety and design. Each draws comparisons between the technology of semiconductor, mobility and robotics companies and Cheong Kwan Jang's own research and production infrastructure, a device meant to capture consumer attention and convey the brand's differentiation.
An official at Cheong Kwan Jang said the goal was "to show that Cheong Kwan Jang, a brand with 127 years of history, is evolving in step with the times into a company that provides scientific solutions."
Other companies are also putting accumulated R&D capabilities to work in marketing. Duolac, a probiotics brand, has shifted its point of differentiation from guaranteed bacterial count to intestinal survival rate, presenting whether the bacteria reach the gut alive — not simply how many there are — as the standard for choosing a product. The brand highlights an intestinal survival rate up to 221 times higher than that of uncoated probiotics, as confirmed in human trials.
Gatorade, ahead of the 2026 World Cup, rolled out its global "Is It In You?" campaign drawing on data from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Using sweat as its central motif, the video delivers the message that the brand underpins athletes' performance and physical capability.
Behind the shift is a consumer trend that places weight on scientifically verified efficacy. According to Euromonitor's analysis of global consumer trends for 2026, consumers are seeking comfort and simplicity while also gravitating toward products and services with scientifically proven effects.
"Trend Korea 2026" likewise named health intelligence, or HQ, as one of its 10 keywords for the year. As interest in health grows, the analysis holds, trust in efficacy and safety is becoming as important as brand awareness and favorability in food and beverage purchases.
An official at Cheil Worldwide said the merging of science and technology into food marketing "connects with consumers' desire to clearly understand why they are choosing a product." The official added that "the core strategy is translating verified scientific evidence into brand language that consumers can easily grasp and relate to."