91: Chapter 91 New Limited Edition Products Launch in Dragon Kingdom

In the first week of September, the mornings and evenings in Seoul already had a chill in the air. In the conference room of the International Business Department at Shunyi Foods headquarters, Kim Sang-woo placed two sample packs side by side on the table. One was orange and the other yellow, with the Chinese words "Mala fire chicken noodles" and "hot and sour fire chicken noodles" printed on the packaging, and "China Limited" noted in small characters next to them.

He stood before the table with a fifty-page launch plan spread out in front of him, beads of sweat on his forehead reflecting the light of the fluorescent lamps. Chairman Wang Shunyi sat in the head seat; he didn't flip through the plan, but instead stared at the two sample packs for a few seconds.

"Launch time?"

"September 15th. Two weeks left." Kim Sang-woo flipped to the first page of the plan, his speaking pace a bit faster than usual. "The product is positioned as 'Authentic Chinese Flavor, Korean Quality Guaranteed.'"

"Pricing is eighteen RMB per pack, on par with the low-calorie noodles. The main packaging color is orange, with both Mala and Sour and Spicy sharing the same color scheme, distinguished by the text and secondary patterns."

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the orange pack and flipped it to the back. The ingredients list, nutritional information, and shelf life were all printed clearly.

The four words "China Limited" used a gold-stamping process, flashing under the light. He set the sample down, leaned back into his chair, and folded his hands over his stomach.

"How is the marketing push?"

Lee Jung-hoon stood up from the side, holding a tablet and swiping to the third page.

"We'll do a warm-up a week before the launch, spreading KOL tasting reviews across Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin with a budget of 500 million KRW. We've selected forty bloggers, covering a total of 20 million followers. On the launch day, Tmall and JD.com homepage ads will go live simultaneously, and VIVID's endorsement video will debut on Weibo and Douyin."

"The video is thirty seconds long, featuring them wearing modified traditional Chinese clothing while eating the Mala and Sour and Spicy noodles, ending with the voiceover 'Sunyi fire chicken noodles, China Limited.' With video placement plus newsfeed promotion, the budget is 800 million. A month after launch, we'll focus on repeat purchases with coupons and discounts, budgeting 300 million. The total marketing budget is 1.6 billion KRW."

Chairman Wang Shunyi's gaze fell on the tablet screen. The promotion schedule was densely packed from September 1st to October 15th, with clear tasks and responsible persons for every single day.

He looked for a few seconds before pushing the tablet back. "Who filmed VIVID's endorsement video?"

"SM Entertainment's internal team. The director has filmed EXO's comeback teasers, so the visual quality is solid." Lee Jung-hoon hesitated for a moment. "Chairman, would you like to see the sample footage first?"

"No need. Just send it to my phone."

Kim Tae-ho hadn't spoken the whole time, sitting at the very end of the conference table with two sample packs in front of him as well.

There were dark circles under his eyes. The R&D for the low-sodium and high-protein lines had been weighing on him for three months, and the Mala and Sour and Spicy flavors were urgent tasks squeezed in, taking less than a month from project initiation to sample production.

The R&D team had worked continuous overtime. One ingredient mixer had fainted in the lab and was sent to the hospital for an IV drip, only to return to work the next day.

Chairman Wang Shunyi knew about this but said nothing. The legal department had already prepared risk disclosure forms; once the employees signed them, it was defaulted as voluntary overtime.

"The spiciness of the Mala flavor is 50% higher than the classic noodles—not 1.5 times, but 50% higher."

Kim Tae-ho's voice was a bit hoarse, sounding like it had been rubbed with sandpaper. "The acidity of the Sour and Spicy flavor has been reduced by 10%, adjusted according to your last suggestion. This current version has the best tasting feedback from the East China region."

"The Sichuan-Chongqing region felt it wasn't sour enough, but East China consumers said it was just right. We're going with East China."

"What about the local warehouses?"

Kim Sang-woo quickly switched to the next section.

"The Shanghai and Guangzhou warehouses are already operational, with a total area of 5,000 square meters. Delivery times have been shortened from five-to-seven days to two-to-three days. For the first batch, we've prepared 200,000 packs each for Mala and Sour and Spicy, split equally between the Shanghai and Guangzhou warehouses. The second batch is already being containerized at Busan Port and will set sail on September 10th."

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the mineral water from the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. It was room temperature, not cold. He put the bottle back; the cap wasn't screwed on tight and sat crookedly.

"Launch on September 15th. I want to see real-time data that day. Report it every hour and send it to my phone. Compare the sales of Mala and Sour and Spicy month-over-month with the classic noodles."

He stood up, and everyone followed suit. He waved his hand for them to sit down and walked out of the conference room first. The back of the chair still held his body heat.

At 6:30 PM, Chairman Wang Shunyi sat alone in his office. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was the twilight of Seongdong-gu; the sky was a grayish-blue, and the clouds hung low.

On the desk sat an unopened sample of Mala fire chicken noodles. He opened it but didn't soak the noodles. Inside was a tasting feedback card, a scanned copy of a Chinese consumer's handwriting.

"Numbing and spicy enough, tastes better than local noodles. But the price is a bit high; I hope there will be promotions."

The handwriting was crooked, and the character for "spicy" was written incorrectly with an extra stroke. He put the card back, resealed the noodles, and tucked them into a drawer.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Kim Young-jun, saying that the sample footage for VIVID's endorsement video had been sent to his email for the chairman's review.

He opened his phone, and after the video buffered for two seconds, Kim Ye-rin's face filled the screen. She was wearing a red traditional buttoned jacket with her hair braided and hanging over her chest. Her makeup was much lighter than her stage look, making her look like the girl next door.

Before her sat a bowl of orange noodles. As she lifted them with chopsticks, the noodles bounced in front of the camera. "Mala fire chicken noodles, China Limited." Her Chinese pronunciation wasn't standard; "Mala" sounded like "Ma-la."

But it didn't matter; her expression was right. Her eyes widened slightly, and the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a row of neat teeth as if she had tasted something wonderful—surprised, yet natural. She took a bite of the noodles, sucked in a breath from the heat, and then smiled.

That smile wasn't acted; she was genuinely hit by the spice, but the camera didn't stop, and she didn't call for a halt. She just smiled and swallowed that mouthful of noodles.

Chairman Wang Shunyi dragged the progress bar back and watched it again. He wasn't looking at her face, but at the noodle bowl on the table, the packaging box, and the chopstick rest, ensuring the Sunyi logo wasn't obscured.

He forwarded the video to Lee Jung-hoon with a note: "Good. Launch on Tmall and JD.com at midnight on the 15th."

The sky outside had turned completely dark. Chairman Wang Shunyi turned off the lights and walked out of the office.

At 8:00 PM, Chairman Wang Shunyi left the company and headed to Park Min-ji's apartment.

Today, she had invited him to her home for dinner.

He entered the apartment building, took the elevator up, and rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and Park Min-ji stood at the entrance wearing loose loungewear.

"You're here."

She smiled. "Come in."

Chairman Wang Shunyi walked into the apartment.

"What did you make today?" he asked curiously.

Park Min-ji smiled. "You'll know once you taste it."

Chairman Wang Shunyi sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite.

"This is...?" He was somewhat surprised.

Park Min-ji said proudly, "How is it, Oppa? This is a dish I specially made based on your new products: 'Mala Mixed Noodles.'"

"You mentioned before that you were going to launch Mala fire chicken noodles, so I tried making this dish. How is it? How does it taste?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi took another bite and nodded. "Daebak! It's really delicious!"

"Minji, your cooking skills are getting better and better!"

Park Min-ji sat across from him and looked at him. "Oppa, how was VIVID's stage performance?"

Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded. "Very successful. After all these days of training, they've mastered the basics."

"After all, as the first banner for our Shunyi Foods in the entertainment industry, VIVID not only cannot fall, but must fly high."

After hearing this, Park Min-ji thought for a moment and said casually, "Oppa, I have a suggestion."

"Go ahead."

"Since VIVID's development is going so smoothly, you could further expand your layout in the entertainment industry."

Park Min-ji said, "Besides investing in SM Entertainment, if you have sufficient capital, you could also consider investing in other entertainment companies like JYP or Cube. Right now, Cube has a group that is very popular in Dragon Country. Having them as spokespersons could further your layout in Dragon Country."

"This way, you can occupy a more important position in the entire Korean entertainment industry. Once you hold that position, any product you have can get better exposure."

Chairman Wang Shunyi listened and nodded thoughtfully. "Minji, I will seriously consider it."

Park Min-ji smiled. "I'm just speaking off the cuff; the final decision is still up to you."

Chairman Wang Shunyi said nothing, but simply gripped her hand tightly.