60: Chapter 60 Multi-line

The New Year's holiday had just passed, and the weather in Bangkok was already as hot as a steamer. By the time Zhang Junhao emerged from Suvarnabhumi Airport, his shirt was soaked through and clinging to his back. He got into a taxi and told the driver, "To Central World." The driver responded with an "OK" in Thai-accented English and then slammed on the gas, darting forward.

The traffic on the road was a complete mess, taking forty minutes to cover a three-kilometer distance. He leaned against the car window, watching the colorful taxis and motorcycles weave through the traffic. His mind was entirely on the shelves—the supermarket in the basement of Central World was one of the largest retail outlets in Thailand. He wondered how much shelf space Mama Noodles occupied there and whether Sunyi's products could squeeze in.

He stayed in Bangkok for ten days. He visited seven supermarkets, twelve convenience stores, and met with representatives from five distributors. The palates of Thai people were even more demanding than those of the Vietnamese—sour, sweet, spicy, salty, and savory; these five flavors had to be perfectly balanced in a bowl of noodles, and even a tiny bit too much or too little wouldn't do. He bought a dozen of the best-selling instant noodles on the market and tried them one by one, until he developed a blister on the corner of his mouth by the third day.

"President Wang, Thai people are brand-conscious when it comes to noodles, but they recognize 'brands that taste good,'" he said to Chairman Wang Shunyi over the phone. "Mama Noodles has been around for over thirty years with stable quality and authentic flavors. We can't beat them in a head-on collision; we have to find a gap."

"What kind of gap?"

"The tom yum goong flavor. Thai people love eating tom yum goong, but the tom yum goong instant noodles currently on the market are either too sour or too bland; none of them manage to achieve a broth that is both rich and balanced. We’ll make a tom yum goong noodle using real ingredients—Lemongrass, Galangal, Kaffir Lime Leaves, and Chili Paste—without adding artificial flavors."

"And the cost?"

"Thirty-five Thai Baht per pack, which is ten Baht more expensive than Mama Noodles."

"Ten Baht more expensive? Why would people buy yours?"

"Because of the taste. I've been eating here for over ten days, and I haven't had a decent bowl of tom yum goong noodles yet."

Chairman Wang Shunyi was silent for two seconds. "Go develop it. Once it's ready, I'll bring the team to taste it."

After Lee Chang-ho took over, he locked himself in the kitchen for an entire week. Should the Lemongrass be fresh or dried? What was the difference between Galangal and regular ginger? How could the fragrance of the Kaffir Lime Leaves be preserved? He tested it over and over again; the first version was too sour, the second had too much coconut milk, and the third was too sweet. The fourth version was finally right. He used vacuum packaging technology to lock in the fragrance of the Lemongrass and Galangal. The noodle cake was wide, like Thai rice noodles, and had a chewy texture after being steeped.

In mid-February, Chairman Wang Shunyi flew to Bangkok with Park Min-ji. The three of them stood in the supermarket in the basement of Central World, in front of a row of colorful instant noodle shelves. Zhang Junhao pulled a sample pack from his bag, opened it, and steeped it using the supermarket's hot water. Three minutes later, he handed the bowl to Chairman Wang Shunyi.

Chairman Wang Shunyi tasted the broth and said nothing. He then tried the noodles and handed the bowl to Park Min-ji. Park Min-ji also took a taste, and the two of them exchanged a look.

"Launch it," Chairman Wang Shunyi said.

The first batch of stock was placed in twenty supermarkets across Bangkok for a two-week trial sale. In the first week, they sold one thousand two hundred packs, and in the second week, they sold three thousand packs. The growth curve was very steep. More importantly, people on social media began discussing these noodles. A Thai food blogger posted, "A tom yum goong noodle made by a Korean brand is actually more authentic than the local brands." The post included a picture showing the bright red broth in the bowl, with Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Leaves clearly visible. The post was shared over two thousand times, and the comments were all asking, "Where can I buy this?"

Distributors began calling proactively. Terms that were previously non-negotiable could suddenly be discussed, and the slotting fees that were previously required could suddenly be discounted. Zhang Junhao said with a smile, "President Wang, this is the power of word-of-mouth."

"It's not word-of-mouth; it's strength," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "If the product is good, distributors will chase after you. If the product is bad, you'll be the one chasing the distributors."

Park Min-ji remained silent to the side, looked down at her phone, and then looked up. "President Wang, something has happened at Nongshim."

"What is it?"

"Nongshim's Probiotic Noodles have received consumer complaints about gastrointestinal discomfort after eating. The Food and Drug Administration is currently investigating."

Chairman Wang Shunyi frowned. "Is there a problem with the product, or is someone intentionally causing trouble?"

"It's not clear yet. But consumers aren't buying it anymore; sales of that Nongshim noodle have dropped forty percent in a week."

Zhang Junhao handed over his phone. On the screen was the NAVER trending search list; "Nongshim Probiotic Noodles" was ranked third, followed by terms like "diarrhea" and "recall." Chairman Wang Shunyi glanced at it and handed the phone back to Zhang Junhao.

"What about us? Has our probiotic noodle been affected?"

"No. Our product has been on the market for over six months, and there have never been any quality issues."

Chairman Wang Shunyi was silent for a while before saying, "It's not that we're lucky; it's that Lee Chang-ho keeps a strict watch on quality. Give him a bonus after we return."

At the March board meeting, Park Min-ji reported a new idea. "President Wang, we entered the functional food market early, but now competition is heating up. Nongshim is following quickly, and Samyang is also keeping up. Relying solely on probiotics and collagen won't sustain us for long. I suggest launching two new products—Dietary Fiber Noodles and Low GI Noodles."

"I know about dietary fiber. What does Low GI mean?"

"Low Glycemic Index. It's suitable for diabetics and people who need to manage their blood sugar. This market is currently a void with no competing products."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at Zhang Junhao. "Can the Low GI technology be achieved?"

Zhang Junhao nodded. "Lee Chang-ho says it's possible. By using whole wheat flour plus konjac powder, combined with a specific production process, the glycemic index can be reduced to sixty percent of that of regular noodles. There will be a slight sacrifice in taste, but the target audience doesn't care about taste; they care about health."

"Then do it. What about the pricing?"

"Three thousand eight hundred for the Dietary Fiber and four thousand two hundred for the Low GI. They're more expensive than regular noodles, but cheaper than going to the hospital."

The shareholders laughed. The proposal passed unanimously.

The two new products were launched in April. The packaging for the Dietary Fiber Noodles was green, with the words "Dietary Fiber" written in large letters, and a small note at the bottom stating, "Each pack contains 30% of the daily dietary fiber required by an adult." The packaging for the Low GI Noodles was dark blue, with "Low Glycemic Index" written on it, and a small note at the bottom stating, "Suitable for people who need to manage their blood sugar."

In the first week of launch, sales were average. They began to rise in the second week, but the increase didn't come from young people; it came from the middle-aged and elderly—many children were buying them for their parents. Someone posted a picture on social media saying, "I bought a case for my diabetic dad, and his blood sugar didn't rise much after eating them." Another reply said, "My mom too; she didn't dare eat noodles before, but now she can." This product didn't have large-scale advertising; it relied on this kind of word-of-mouth.

In May, the Vietnamese government announced a reduction in import tariffs for instant noodles from 15% to 8%. Zhang Junhao rushed into Chairman Wang Shunyi's office with the news release, his expression happier than if he had won the lottery.

"President Wang, this is an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?"

"Tariffs have dropped, and costs have dropped. We can stock more products in Vietnam—not just sour and spicy noodles, but beef, seafood, and chicken noodles. I've already negotiated with the Vietnamese distributors; we can enter all WinMart stores nationwide. Distribution isn't the problem; the problem is production capacity."

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the phone and called Lee Jae-hoon. "Is there still any spare capacity at the Kims factory?"

"Yes. After the renovation of the old Kims plant, it's now mainly used for warehousing, and only one production line is running. If we need to expand production, we can open two more lines; tripling the capacity won't be a problem."

"Open them. Orders from Vietnam are going to increase significantly."

A month later, three new products were launched simultaneously in Vietnam—Vietnamese Beef Noodles, Vietnamese Seafood Noodles, and Vietnamese Chicken Noodles. The pricing was between 15,000 and 20,000 Vietnamese Dong. On the day of launch, they were stocked in four hundred WinMart stores nationwide, and online channels began sales at the same time. They sold 120,000 packs in the first week, 160,000 in the second, and 200,000 in the third. Monthly sales in the Vietnamese market soared from 2 billion KRW to 7 billion KRW.

Zhang Junhao stood before the whiteboard in Chairman Wang Shunyi's office, using a red pen to mark five countries on a map of Southeast Asia—Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Vietnam had a checkmark, Indonesia had a triangle, Thailand had a checkmark, Malaysia hadn't started yet, and the Philippines was still being researched.

"President Wang, which one do we enter next?"

"Malaysia. Has the Halal Certification come through?"

"It has. We'll get the certificate in June."

"Then we'll enter in June. Is the product ready?"

"Curry Noodles. The recipe has been being adjusted for three months, and Lee Chang-ho says it's ready."

Chairman Wang Shunyi looked at him. "Have you tasted it?"

"I have. It's delicious."

"How delicious?"

"It tastes exactly like the Curry Noodles I had at that roadside stall in Penang."

Chairman Wang Shunyi smiled slightly. "Then launch it."

In June, Sunyi Malaysia officially began sales. The first product was Curry Flavor Instant Noodles, priced at 3 MYR, and had obtained official Malaysian Halal Certification. Distribution was selected for fifty supermarkets in Kuala Lumpur; two thousand packs were sold on the first day, three thousand on the second, and five thousand on the third. Food bloggers in Kuala Lumpur began posting review videos, with one blogger saying, "This curry noodle made by a Korean brand is even more authentic than some of the local brands."

"Is it produced by a Malaysian factory?"

"No, it's imported directly from Korea and has Halal Certification."

"Where can I buy it?"

"Both AEON and Giant have it."

In August, Zhang Junhao flew to Manila again. The Philippine market was the last big cake in Southeast Asia, with an annual consumption of 2.5 billion packs, where Lucky Me dominated with a sixty percent share. He stayed in Manila for a week and said one thing when he came back to report: "People in the Philippines eat noodles just like Indonesians—they look at the price. But there's one difference—Filipinos have an obsession with the word 'imported.' If something comes from Korea, they think it's good."

"Then tell them we're from Korea," Chairman Wang Shunyi said. "Print Korean on the packaging, keep the Sunyi logo, and add a line of English at the bottom. Don't set the price too high—keep it within thirty percent more than Lucky Me."

"What about Halal Certification?"

"The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country; Halal Certification isn't necessary. We can skip a step."

In November, the Philippine version of Sunyi went online. Instead of large-scale distribution, they started with e-commerce, opening flagship stores on Lazada and Shopee Philippines. They sold 80,000 packs in the first month and 150,000 in the second. The growth rate was faster than in any other market.

On December 28th, Park Min-ji reported the annual performance at the board meeting. The numbers flashed on the big screen—total revenue of 850 billion, net profit of 50 billion, and fourth in market share. The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds. Then Zhang Junhao took the lead in clapping, and the applause went from sporadic to thunderous.

Fourth place. Ahead were Nongshim, Ottogi, and CJ Foods, while Samyang trailed behind.

Chairman Wang Shunyi stood up. He didn't walk onto the stage but just stood by his seat, looking at the shareholders and directors. "Eight hundred and fifty billion. A year ago, we stood here and said we wanted one trillion next year. Now we're only one hundred and fifty billion short of one trillion. It's not a big gap; let's just do it."

After the meeting adjourned, Choi Jae-won came over to shake his hand. The old man was wearing a dark gray cashmere coat; his hair was entirely white, but he was in good spirits. "President Wang, eight hundred and fifty billion. When I invested in you back then, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

"Mr. Choi, eight hundred and fifty billion is the past. This time next year, I want to be here saying one point five trillion."

Choi Jae-won looked at him, shook his head with a smile, and left. As the door closed, his hearty laughter echoed in the corridor.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Chairman Wang Shunyi sat alone in his office. A bowl of the Philippine version of Sunyi sat on his desk; he hadn't eaten it, and it was already cold. His phone lit up with a text message from Kim Dong-hyun.

"Congratulations on fourth place."

He replied with four words: "Third place next year."

Outside the window, Seoul was still glowing, and the light of Namsan Tower was flashing. He picked up the bowl of cold noodles and took a mouthful. The noodles had already clumped together, but he thought they tasted quite good.