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I’m very happy to announce that today begins Meet The Manufacturer Week: Paldo~ There will be many reviews and information about this great South Korean company. Here, we shall start with the interview. Enjoy!
THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview! Could we start off with some information about Paldo; when was Paldo founded, where and by who?
PALDO> Paldo was the Brand name of Korea Yakult Company in 1969. End of last year in 2011, it was separated from a brand name to a complete food manufacture company with our CEO, Choi, Jae-moon. We are still same company but, we are different in the management part.
TRR> For those of my readers who are not familiar with your line of products, could you tell us a little about them?
PALDO> Our Products are consisted of three big categories. 1.Noodles, 2.Beverages, 3.Retort processed products.
For Noodles, we have Bibim-men, Hwa Ramen, Kokomen Packet and Bowl noodles. Also, have Doshirak, and King Noodles.
For Beverages, we have Aloe Vera Drinks, Shikhye(Rice Drink), Soojeonggwa(Cinnamon Drink), Coffee, Pororo(Kid’s Drink).
For Retort Processed Products, we have Soy Bean Broth, Cold Noodle, and other Snacks.
TRR> How did you come to the ‘Fun & Yum’ motto? What’s it all about?
PALDO> Fun & Yum is changing this world happier with different color of the taste. It contains our challenge and philosophy. Also, ”Yum” pronunciation in Korean also represents the sound of delicious eating sound.
TRR> After a very long wait, Kokomen has just been released in the United States. Could you tell us about Kokomen and how it came into existence and what makes it special?
PALDO> Usually New Ramen comes out from existing similar types. For instance, Jjajang, Jjambbong, Yuk-gye-jang, Cold Noodle, Kissmyon, Nagasaki Jjambbong Etc. But, Kokomen is very unique and prototype of all recipes. Kokomen was introduced through a Cooking Contest and food critics and people were amazed by the taste of it. Paldo took this recipe and developed to a total brand new product to our consumers.
TRR> When did you decide to the the United States, and why in California?
PALDO> Paldo’s America’s office was established October of 2010. California located at the major ports in the west coast. For Paldo’s Products to come-in, From this location, we will expand to Mid-west and east coast in near future.
TRR> What does the name ‘Paldo’ mean?
PALDO> The word “Pal” means number 8 in Korean and “Do” means Province. If North Korea and South Korea combines together, there are 8 Provinces. Our philosophy is that we as Korean wishes to be united in someday. Even though Korea has separated into North and South after the Korean war, people from 8 provinces are still in Paldo. As unique people work in Paldo, also provide unique and the best quality products nationwide and furthermore internationally. The logo of Paldo represents our customer’s excited moments of our products expectations and pleasures as our customers open our products. Paldo creates remarkable tastes through our times to our customers’ satisfaction. Our logo’s red color represents “passion of our quality” and the color green represents “nature and health”. In addition, “Pal-Do” could mean, “Friends(Pal), let’s become Friends”
TRR> Is Paldo involved in the local community around you?
PALDO> We are yet involved in the local communities, but we are planning on a significant contribution in near future. From last year, we started a little support to a charity foundation near New York.
TRR> How many packs, cups and bowls of instant noodles do you make in a year?
PALDO> We produced 343,773,000 in sales counts in the year 2011. In the year of 2012, we expect more than 446,905,000 in sales. Our prediction is about 130% sales growth compare to the last year.
TRR> Are there any new products that will be coming out soon that you could tell us about?
PALDO> We are planning to introduce “Kokomen Jumbo Cup and Small Cup”, Namja Ramen(Pack/King/Small), Rabbokki, Milk Tea, Energy Drink, and Snacks etc.
TRR> A lot of people wonder about the health factors (sodium, etc) when it comes to instant noodles. How do you recommend people made instant noodles a healthy part of their diet?
PALDO> Usually our consumers adds vegetables, eggs, and meats or takes out little portion of our soup-mix to control the sodium level. Paldo recommends adding mushrooms, bean sprouts, or corns. Mushroom will add rich taste, bean sprouts gives fresh tastes. For your diet, you can cook half portion of the noodle or DO NOT take the soup all the way down.
TRR> I noticed on the Dosirac, the packets have writing in cyrillic – not something I commonly see. Can you tell us why?
PALDO> The Dosirac in Cyrillic writing is the most popular product in Russia. Dosirac Ranks Market share #1 Product in Russia, so you can say that we are the TOP 1st.
TRR> Do you make/sell products other than instant noodles?
PALDO> As previously mentioned, we have beverages, Retort processed products, and snacks etc.
TRR> What was your first product?
PALDO> 3 Noodles were introduced in September 1983. 1. Sooeh-gogi(Beef) 2. Chlorella, 3. Sesame Flavor
TRR> I hear Paldo pronounced with an ‘i’ instead of an ‘l’ in Korean commercials – is this the correct way to
say the company name?
PALDO>I think the pronunciation “L” in Korean differs from English Pronunciation that makes little different and it sound a bit like “paido” for you. But, it is really Pal-Do with” L”
TRR> How does the process in which you make your noodles differ from other brands?
PALDO> 4 Major Korean Noodle making company’s Facilities and processes may be very similar to each other. If we were to bring out what Paldo is really different from others is that we have tried more to come out with better products. For instance, we came up with liquid soup mix NOT dry, we built facilities to make Retort processed products, we spent more time to develop our products and these make a major different from others. As a result, for the first time in the history, we have applied this liquid mix to Bibim men, and Jjajangmen’s Retort processed technology would be our valuable outcome from our longtime effort.
TRR> When you make instant noodles for yoursself, do you add anything or have any recommendations?
PALDO> In Korea, there is a very special soup that increase energy, boost metabolism, promote fitness, made out with Chicken, Ginseng, jujube, sticky rice, and Whole Garlics in a pot. We call this “Sam-Gye-Tang”. As a special recommendation, you can start with our soup mix, a strip of ginseng, some jujube, and garlics. Boil these for about 20 min (recommend to put a little more water than recommended) and put your noodle and cook this with your toppings if you like. This recommendation will be the most Healthier and wellbeing Ramen Cooking for you.
We do not have any other recommendations than this, but if we really have to recommend, we recommend the instructions in the back of our noodle packs. Especially, adding water portion could make a big difference. Cooking equipment and time also makes difference, but when you cook our new product, we recommend not adding anything because we want you to taste our original taste provided.
THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn more about Paldo!
Here are links to the posts during Meet The Manufacturer: Paldo week
Interview * Promotional Gifts & Samples * Paldo Jang Ramyun Soy Flavor Noodle * Paldo Speed King Bowl (Prototype) * Paldo Kokomen Spicy Chicken Flavor * Paldo Cucumber Bibim Men * Paldo Shouyu Ramen * Paldo Gomtang Oriental Style Noodles With Soup Base * Paldo Chicken Flavor Korean Noodle * Paldo Namja Ramyun (Men’s Ramyun) * Paldo King Cup Kimchi Pot Stew Instant Noodle * Paldo Rabokki * Paldo Teumsae Ramyun * Paldo Seafood Noodle Soup * Paldo Seolleongtangmyeon * Paldo Hwa Ramyun With Soy Peptide * Paldo Jjajangmen Chajang Noodle * Paldo Bibim Men Oriental Style Noodle
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