Nongshim Kellogg, a joint venture between South Korean processed food manufacturer Nongshim and global food giant Kellogg Company, will oversee Kellogg’s Hong Kong and Taiwan operations starting January next year.

Han Jong-gap, chief executive officer of Nongshim Kellogg, will also spearhead the Hong Kong and Taiwan offices, according to food industry sources on Wednesday.

The latest change is part of Kellogg’s push to expand its reach in the fast-growing Asia Pacific food market in recent years. The region delivered mere $700 million revenue in 2011, and the figure more than doubled to $1.3 billion this year thanks to changing dietary habits in Asian countries preferring simple cereal or bread for breakfast amid the growing number of single-person households and working women.

The cereal giant currently runs 13 operations across the Asia-Pacific region, and the Korean market run by Nongshim Kellogg has registered the second-fastest growth with revenue jumping more than 10 percent annually over the past three years, outpacing an annual average growth rate of around 2 percent in the region.

Market experts attribute Nongshim Kellogg’s rapid growth to its timely launch of granola cereal in 2015 when the wellbeing boom hit Korea followed by another successful introduction of energy bars and single-serve cereal products targeting one-person households in 2016.

After having seen Nongshim Kellogg’s stellar performance, Kellogg’s global head office reportedly decided to place its Hong Kong and Taiwan operations under the Korean office’s management with a hope to repeat the its success in the two other Asian markets.

For now, Hong Kong’s cereal market is already saturated due to early introduction of westernized eating habits. But the cereal market in Taiwan is fast growing now with a sharp rise in the number of single-person households and female workers searching for quick and easy breakfast options.

By Lee Hee-soo and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]