South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang is expanding its global footprint with two new manufacturing facilities, investing 800 billion won ($571.7 million) in Hungary and South Dakota.
The company will spend 100 billion won on its first European production site near Budapest, targeting the region’s rapidly expanding dumpling market. The 115,000-square-meter facility will begin producing Bibigo dumplings in late 2026, with plans to add chicken products later.
The larger investment focuses on North America, where the company’s subsidiary Schwan’s has started construction of a 575,000-square-meter plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The 700 billion won facility is set to open in 2027, reinforcing Bibigo’s 42% market share in the US consumer dumpling segment.
The expansion follows substantial growth in CJ CheilJedang’s overseas food business, which saw sales jump 70% to 5.39 trillion won between 2019 and 2023. International revenue now accounts for 48% of total food sales, up from 39% four years ago.
The company currently operates 20 food plants in the US, acquired through its Schwan’s purchase in 2019, and maintains production facilities in Germany and Vietnam.
