Maison de Corée: A New Beginning > PROJECT

At Korea Expo 2024, Maison de Corée reinterpreted NUKIM as a pop-up convenience store. 

We conducted a survey in the form of a personality test titled "What is Your NUKIM (Feeling)?" showcasing a variety of K-lifestyle products, including K-Food, K-Beauty, and K-Fashion. 

Visitors participated in the survey by exploring nine different booths, categorized into morning, lunch, and dinner sections. 

They completed the personality test and selected products from various brands suitable for each time of day. 

With groundbreaking gamification and eye-catching design, Maison de Corée once again demonstrated its competitiveness in the international market.

‘UNBOXING KOREA’ is a project that reintroduces the charm of Korea in Paris. 

To our customers, we are like a gift. French consumers who experienced Korea’s story firsthand in Maison de Corée's space naturally became our customers. 

Launched with the concept of "bringing real Korea to France," ‘UNBOXING KOREA’ aimed to explore and present Korean culture as if unboxing a shoe box. 

This project was set up in booth formats at Carrefour’s top two sales locations, where it showcased and promoted Korean products. 

It was designed to directly gauge local French reactions. 

Inside the shoe boxes were prize tickets, and a total of 3,000 boxes were sold. 

Customers who won the tickets received round-trip flights to Korea as prizes, which generated significant enthusiasm. 

While Korean culture has become a major trend, Korean food remains unfamiliar to many. 

For many customers who have never experienced Korean cuisine, the first encounter is crucial. 

Once they overcome this initial apprehension, they will surely come to appreciate our flavors and style. 

To address this, we designed and created a space to dispel this fear. 

Maison de Corée has launched an offline space near the Carrefour store in Nice, South France, dedicated to K-Food based dining and grocery. 

This store features Korean NB products, Lou et Lang PB brands, and a dining kitchen, serving a strategic purpose by validating Korean cuisine through the prominent retailer Carrefour. 

In 2024, a second store will open next to Five Guys in Nice, further expanding our efforts to promote Korean food culture.

In response to the K-culture craze, Carrefour, France’s largest retailer, requested Maison de Corée to develop Korean frozen products. 

This led to the launch of the 'CARREFOUR FROZEN PROJECT,' the largest Korean food initiative in the European market. 

The 'CARREFOUR FROZEN PROJECT' aimed to create a new category of Korean food that had never existed before. 

We developed 20 frozen products, including appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, all adhering to a 'Made in Korea' standard to cater to French culinary tastes. 

Over the course of 5 months, approximately 20 diverse Korean frozen products were developed and introduced to Carrefour stores nationwide. 

Achieving this in such a short timeframe was a remarkable feat, playing a crucial role in presenting Korean flavors and culture to French consumers. 

The 'CARREFOUR FROZEN PROJECT' stands as a testament to Maison de Corée’s rapid response capabilities and innovative product development expertise.

The pandemic was a time of great frustration for us. 

Prejudices and discrimination against Asia intensified, with some customers rejecting Asian food or even attacking sushi restaurants. 

Despite these challenges, we persevered and ultimately witnessed the tremendous success of K-content and the Korean Wave. 

The 'Maison de Corée x Nongshim' cup noodle, a collaboration between Korea’s leading ramen brand Nongshim and the K-Food startup Lou et Lang, garnered significant attention from both domestic and international markets. 

This unique partnership, occurring over 50 years after Nongshim's founding, highlighted its novelty and impact. 

The 'Maison de Corée x Nongshim' project reflects various cultural elements of Korea, featuring a storyline where goblins resurrected from the Goryeo Dynasty explore and create flavors in modern Seoul. 

The product design incorporates the characters GUNI (建이) and YOI (堯이) on their culinary adventures throughout Seoul. 

The 'Maison de Corée x Nongshim' cup noodles were launched in two flavors tailored to French tastes: Bulgogi and Spicy Chicken. 

Designed to offer European consumers a natural introduction to Korean culture, these cup noodles were listed in over 600 major French supermarkets, including Monoprix and Carrefour, within six months of their launch, achieving a 160% growth in sales.

In France, the trend is rapidly shifting towards BIO (organic) products. 

Maison de Corée took on the challenge of the BIO project as the first Asian brand to do so, overcoming the difficulties of creating organic products. 

Our goal was to source all ingredients organically while maintaining flavor and satisfying customers. 

Maison de Corée, known for transforming the French retail market with experimental and innovative products, broke down stereotypes about Asia with our 'BIO & VEGAN' project by introducing eco-friendly and clean foods. 

'Bio Gyoza Mandu' is a Korean frozen dumpling that emphasizes freshness and health by intuitively displaying the filling ingredients on the package. 

The story and manufacturing process from the Jeolla region of Korea are illustrated in a friendly manner to enhance product understanding and trust. 

This product was introduced as the first frozen BIO (organic) & VEGAN Asian food in large-scale French retail. 

'Bio Alo' is a Korean aloe drink that features a BIO (organic) label repeatedly placed on the bottle's edge and a transparent aloe-shaped window to intuitively showcase the drink containing 'gel.' 

The water from the Jirisan region of Korea is reflected in the product through a map and barcode. 

This project was internationally recognized for its excellence, receiving the prestigious REDDOT Design Award. 

Winning the REDDOT Award confirmed Maison de Corée's innovative and eco-friendly approach, earning global acclaim and validating our success in the French market.

Through the 'MASK ON' project, Maison de Corée developed innovative beauty products using ingredients inspired by K-Food. 

We have continuously worked to offer K-Beauty at accessible prices and with high quality for everyone. 

By merging beautiful products with creative ideas, we explored how to seamlessly integrate K-Beauty into everyday life. 

As a result, our products received significant acclaim from fashion industry buyers at exhibitions and were successfully listed in fashion edit shops, marking a successful debut in the fashion world. 

Maison de Corée pioneered the use of the 'MANDU' labeling and introduced a unique square black box packaging, setting a new trend. 

This innovative approach led Bibigo to change its previous 'Mandoo' labeling to 'Mandu' in 2018, and even the Japanese giant Ajinomoto France adopted this design. 

These leading design and labeling changes have played a significant role in establishing Maison de Corée's dominant position in the French dumpling market. 

The dumpling market in France has now become more competitive than in Germany, with more brands and products vying for attention. 

By transforming the market landscape in this way, Maison de Corée has positioned itself as a frontrunner, setting new standards for dumplings.