Buldak maker's stock erupts to all-time high amid viral wave

Industry

Published: 02 May. 2024, 17:52 Updated: 02 May. 2024, 19:24

Buldak maker's stock erupts to all-time high amid viral wave

American rapper Cardi B shows her making carbonara Buldak noodles in her TikTok video [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The price of Samyang Foods shares hit an all-time high, powered by the global popularity of its crown jewel, Buldak ramen.

The stock closed at 302,500 won ($218.30) on Thursday, a 2.37 percent or 7,000 won increase from Tuesday's trading session, making the highest based on available data dating back to May 2, 1995.

The stock of the Korean noodle producer traded at 304,500 won at 9:16 a.m. on Thursday, up 3.05 percent, or 9,000 won from a day earlier. It skyrocketed at one point to an all-time high of 309,500 won in early in the trading session.

Different flavor-noddles of Samyang Foods' buldak ramen [Samyang Foods]

Thursday's upsurge is largely attributed to an increase in sales of the company's flagship Buldak ramen and related products around the world, such as in the United States.

This sales hike accelerated a narrowing of the gap with rival Nongshim in terms of market capitalization. Samyang Foods’ market cap was valued at 2.3 trillion won, while Nongshim’s stood at 2.5 trillion won as of May 2.

Nongshim holds the largest market share among Korean ramyeon producers, accounting for about 56.3 percent, followed by Ottogi at 24.8 percent and Samyang Foods at 10.9 percent, per each company’s financial statements last year.

The outlook for Samyang is rosy as stock analysts reported that the company's share price will continue its upward trajectory on the heels of its second plant’s completion in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, in June 2025.

In 2023, Samyang Foods announced that its cumulative operating profit recorded 154.8 billion won in 2023, up 80 percent from a year ago. Its revenue in 2023 rose to 1.1 trillion won from 833.2 billion won.

The noodle maker has won over consumers around the word with its Buldak Carbonara ramen, released in 2018.

This year, U.S. rapper Cardi B posted a TikTok video of her cooking the carbonara version with food critic Keith Lee. They appeared to be enamored with the instant noodles.

The rapper further described in her video how she drove over 30 minutes to find the product.

While major U.S. retailers including Amazon, Walmart and Carrs-Safeway as well as Korean grocery stores officially carrying Buldak Carbonara Ramen, the internet is filled with reports about the elusive noodles.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]