What happens when you put a K-pop superstar’s face on a ramen pack? For Otoki, the answer was a tenfold surge in sales.
The food maker said Thursday that 13 million multipacks of its flagship Jin Ramen — this time featuring BTS member Jin — disappeared from shelves in just 50 days. The secret ingredient wasn’t in the soup but in the packaging: 12 collectible stickers with Jin’s image, his handwriting and Otoki’s mascot. Fans turned a humble noodle pack into a must-have item.
Since the promotion began in March, sales at Otoki’s online mall have soared tenfold from a year earlier. Cup ramen with Jin’s image posted a 35% month-on-month jump in April, while convenience store sales more than doubled — proof that even a decades-old brand can find new life with a K-pop boost.
Riding the momentum, Otoki will roll out new cup ramen designs with updated Jin portraits later this year. To keep collectors engaged, it plans to release 100,000 oversized, limited-edition stickers through its online mall and select channels. And that’s not all. Interactive online events and digital content tied to the new packs are also in the works.
Write to Byung-Yeon Yoo at yooby@hankyung.com