Russians have fallen in love with Paldo's popular Dosirac instant noodles, pushing the manufacturer's global sales up to W1.39 trillion last year (US$1=W1,354). That was an increase of W271 billion, but while sales in Korea and Vietnam increased only W80 billion, they surged in Russia by W190 billion.
Paldo sold pot noodles worth W280 billion to W300 billion in Russia from 2018 to 2021, but last year they jumped 65 percent to W491.5 billion.
One reason may be the war in Ukraine. The food maker said product prices rose, but it expanded its factories as more and more Russian have been stockpiling its pot noodles since the invasion started.
Paldo hiked the price by 27 percent as palm oil and other raw material prices soared because of the war, but that did not stop Russian consumers. In October last year, Paldo acquired Spanish food maker GBFoods' Russian plant and expanded output.
The popularity of Dosirac dates back around 30 years when Russian sailors docking in Busan started buying the instant noodles. Russians often travel long distances by train, and the unique rectangular container is said to be virtually spill-proof.
