| James Kon |
CJ CHEILJEDANG , a top South Korean food company which manufactures food ingredients and food items, has announced its willingness to work with selected micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from Brunei with the potential to enter the Korean market.
The potential collaboration was lauded by Kim Kyung-ryong, a specialist under the Strategic Purchasing team of CJ CheilJedang; and his colleague Lee Sung-joo, a senior analyst, during a recent interview following the inaugural Trade Facilitation Workshop for Brunei MSMEs.
To venture into the Korean market, Lee advises strengthening the image of local food products by gaining international certification, such as ISO or HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), aside from the Halal stamp.
The next step, he said, “is to learn design and packaging to attract the interest of buyers. Local companies could make use of Brunei’s image to market the product.”
Lee also suggested that Brunei MSMEs could penetrate Korea through the online and Halal markets.
“The online market is growing globally, including in Korea, and Brunei’s MSMEs can target the premium segment or niche market,” he said. “Secondly, Brunei companies can also set their sights on the Halal market in Korea. We are not familiar with Halal procedures, but Brunei specialises in them.
“Currently, the Government of Brunei is very supportive of start-ups and able to provide facilities to MSMEs, such as fast Internet connection or online marketing strategies.”
Asked to comment about the disadvantages of being small, Lee said, “Small is not important; building a good brand image is.
“Consumption trends are changing very fast globally, and big companies are finding it hard to adapt to changes because they will need to consider a lot of matters when addressing changes, whereas small-size companies can adjust faster.”
Kim, meanwhile, noted that seafood-based products have an excellent potential of venturing into the Korean market, “Because Brunei has vast ocean areas. After visiting Golden Corporation Sdn Bhd, Brunei’s leading aquaculture company, I am very impressed with its quality control and good processing system.
“I feel that Brunei has the potential to create a similar company to Golden Corporation, because it has good business models.”
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