CJ CheilJedang to build $72M Bibigo dumpling factory in Japan

Home > Business > Industry

CJ CheilJedang to build $72M Bibigo dumpling factory in Japan

Published: 08 May. 2025, 13:33 Updated: 08 May. 2025, 18:46

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A rendered image of CJ CheilJedang's new plant in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, set to start production in September. [CJ CHEILJEDANG]

CJ CheilJedang said Thursday it has invested 100 billion won ($72 million) to construct a new Bibigo brand dumpling factory in Japan that will produce frozen dumplings tailored to local customers' lifestyles.

The 8,200-square-meter (98-square-yard) plant is undergoing construction on a plot spanning six football fields in Chiba Prefecture, which is part of the Greater Tokyo area.

It is set to finish construction by July and make Bibigo brand dumplings nationwide starting in September.

The plant will also produce new types of easy-to-cook dumplings in addition to its best-selling gyoza products.

CJ has high expectations for the popularity of gyoza in Japan, sales of which make up more than half the country’s frozen dumpling market, estimated to be worth 1.1 trillion won.

The company currently operates four dumpling plants in Japan, which it acquired as part of an M&A deal with a local manufacturer in 2019.

Bibigo's dumplings selling in Japan [CJ CHEILJEDANG]

The manufacturer sells items such as Bibigo dumplings, frozen gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and sauces in Japan through local retailers including AEON, Costco, Amazon and Rakuten. CJ held its first overseas gimbap launch in the island country in 2023, and has since sold 2.5 million units there as of last year.

The investment follows a string of overseas expenditures as CJ CheilJedang aggressively expands into global markets. The company broke ground for a plant in Hungary that will start producing Bibigo dumplings for European customers from 2026. Another dumpling and egg roll factory and logistics center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will finish construction in 2027.

“By proactively building local infrastructure overseas, we aim to seize the renewed momentum of the ‘K-trend’ and establish ourselves as a leading global force,” a CJ CheilJedang official said.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]