SEOUL, South Korea – CJ CheilJedang, South Korea's largest food and biotechnology company, is set to invest approximately $8 billion in new food production facilities in Europe and the United States, as it seeks to bolster its global food business and prepare for potential trade barriers under a potential Trump administration.

The company announced on Monday that it will build new factories in Hungary and South Dakota, USA. The new plant in Hungary, with a $1 billion investment, will be located near Budapest and is expected to start producing Bibigo dumplings for the European market in the second half of 2026, with plans to add Bibigo chicken production lines in the future.

CJ CheilJedang acquired German frozen food company Meinfrost in 2018, establishing a production base in Europe. However, this is the first time the company has directly built a factory in Europe. The new Hungarian plant is part of the company's strategy to meet the growing demand for dumplings in the European market, which has been expanding at a rate of over 30% annually.

In the United States, the company's subsidiary, Schwan's, will invest $7 billion to build a new "North American Asian Food Plant" in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the plant will be North America's largest Asian food manufacturing facility, equipped with production lines for dumplings and egg rolls, as well as wastewater treatment facilities and a logistics center. CJ CheilJedang aims to further solidify its leading position in the US dumpling retail market with the new South Dakota plant, where Bibigo currently holds a 42% market share.

"This significant investment underscores our strategic commitment to meeting the growing demand for K-food in the United States," said Park Min-seok, head of CJ CheilJedang's food business division.

The large-scale investment plan signals CJ CheilJedang's determination to focus on its core food business, particularly its high-growth overseas food operations. The company's overseas food sales grew by over 70% in four years, from 3.15 trillion won in 2019 to 5.38 trillion won last year. Over this period, the proportion of overseas sales in the company's total food sales increased from 39% to 48%. By expanding production capacity in the United States and Europe, which account for 80% of its overseas food sales, CJ CheilJedang aims to prepare for future demand growth.

Industry experts predict that if CJ CheilJedang proceeds with the sale of its bio business, the proceeds of approximately 6 trillion won could be reinvested in its overseas food business.

Some analysts view CJ CheilJedang's decision to build an additional plant in the United States, where it already operates 20 factories, as a strategic move to prepare for a potential second Trump administration. By increasing its local production capacity, the company can mitigate the impact of potential trade barriers and reduce logistics costs if the US government imposes higher tariffs on imported goods.

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