Ramyeon made the headlines in 2025. The bigger 2026 story for K-Food is the rice-based category moving onto the shelf right next to it: kimbap, tteokbokki, and makgeolli are leaving the specialty aisle for everyday grocery, and the reason is structural.
Korean ramyeon exports reached $1.52 billion in 2025, up 21.8% year on year, making it the first single Korean food item to pass $1.5 billion. China grew 47.9% to $385 million and the United States reached $255 million, according to Korea Customs Service data.
Rice-based Korean foods are following ramyeon, and faster. Rice processed foods, including frozen kimbap, tteokbokki, and makgeolli, grew 41.4% to $136.9 million in the first half of 2024, the fastest growth of any K-Food export item that period. Ramyeon proved the demand; rice-based products are the category taking the shelf space that demand opened.
Frozen kimbap has reached major US retailers including Costco. It is rice-based, ready to eat, and stable in the freezer, which is what a mainstream retailer needs to justify permanent shelf space rather than a seasonal trial.
Rice itself contains no gluten, which helps rice foods reach shoppers who avoid wheat. Finished products can still contain wheat in sauces or seasonings, so labels vary by product. The rice base is a structural reason the category can cross over, not only a marketing choice.
Korea is targeting $16 billion in K-Food+ exports for 2026. The direction of travel is an everyday shelf staple rather than a specialty item, which changes what buyers need from suppliers: consistent volume, compliance, and replenishment rather than one-off novelty shipments.
Ramyeon, at $1.52 billion in 2025. It is the first single Korean food item to pass $1.5 billion in annual exports.
Products whose main ingredient is rice rather than wheat, including kimbap, tteokbokki, and makgeolli. As a group they grew 41.4% in the first half of 2024.
Rice itself contains no gluten, which can open rice foods to shoppers who avoid wheat. Sauces and seasonings can still contain wheat, so labels should be checked per product.
