Korea Ginseng Corp. said Monday it was participating in the 2019 TFWA World Exhibition and Conference being held in Singapore until this Thursday, to make further advances in the overseas duty-free markets with its ginseng products.

The exhibition is Asia’s largest duty-free exposition hosted by the Tax Free World Association, bringing together famous brands and duty-free operators worldwide.

KGC has been taking part in the event since 2017 by opening a CheongKwanJang brand zone promoting the red ginseng products.

It will be the largest health food-related booth in the exhibition to present the quality and value of red ginseng inherited from the Goryeo Dynasty, the company said.

KGC, South Korea’s leading health-food company, has been paying attention to expanding the presence of its signature brand at duty-free market worldwide in recent years.

The market has been showing an exponential growth over the past two decades with the rise in air traffic and e-commerce. The revenue from duty-free stores in South Korea has also been marking a significant growth, reaching 18 trillion won as of last year, quadrupling from 2010.

Contrary to the rapid rise of the duty-free market, the types of items sold in the global marketplace remain limited to cosmetics, liquor and fashion accessories, the company noted, saying that is where products like CheongKwanJang come in by creating a new sales category of health suppliments and foods.

KGC has so far opened CheongKwanJang stores in duty-free stores at the airports and cities of Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. It also sells the red ginseng products at flights of Eva Air of Taiwan and inside Royal Caribbean Cruises, among others.

“Customers who visit duty-free stores are usually those with high buying power and they tend to make purchases for gifting purposes and are always looking for new things,” said a KGC official.

“Since duty-free stores are the optimal place for foreign nationals to encounter with CheongKwanJang red ginseng for the first time, we plan on continuing to expand our forays into the market,” the official added. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)