Seoul searching for salmon at BC Seafood Expo 2019

B.C. salmon worth $540,000 sold within 45 minutes via a television home shopping segment in South Korea.

By SeaWestNews

South Koreans can’t get enough of B.C. salmon.

Just ask the folks at Elbon F&B, who sold a whopping $540,000 worth of BC salmon within 45 minutes on a television home shopping segment in South Korea.

Buoyed by the success on the Lotte Homeshopping network, Elbon is once again back at the BC Seafood Expo, which will be held in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island on June 12 and 13.

The event is one of the largest seafood industry trade shows in the Pacific Northwest. The Expo is wrapped around the 2019 BC Seafood Festival which will be held from June 7 to 16.

Son Young Eun, the company’s representative has told the BC Seafood Expo team that his company is on the lookout for snow crab, salmon roe, sockeye salmon and other premium seafood in both raw and processed forms.

“Elbon F&B looks forward to continue working closely with British Columbia and plans to expand our retail product portfolio with British Columbia seafood items,” Son said.

British Columbia agrifood and seafood products enjoy strong brand recognition in South Korea for quality and food safety, according to the B.C. International Trade and Investment Office in South Korea.

The agency facilitated Elbon’s visit to the B.C. Seafood Expo last June which led to the company staging the television home shopping shows and campaigns at its restaurants and on social media.

Elbon The Table is known for “Contemporary European Cuisine” that targets mid-to-luxury customers. Elbon F&B’s restaurants are located within high-end department stores in Korea such as Hyundai, and Lotte.

In 2018, the company worked closely with B.C. International Trade and Investment Office in South Korea to host various in-market promotion of agrifood. Particularly, Elbon partnered with Lotte Home-shopping Channel to promote B.C. salmon with celebrity host, Yura-Choi, which proved to be a resounding success.

Elbon the Table, is one of Seoul’s most renowned Korean-Western fusion restaurants and features B.C. salmon on its menu. It is headed by celebrity chef Hyun Seok Choi (pictured) and has five restaurant and bistro locations across South Korea.

B.C.’s reputation for quality seafood, coupled with improved access to the South Korean market through the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA), is helping to enhance British Columbia’s competitiveness in the market. In 2017, B.C.’s agrifoods and seafoods exports were valued at $71 million; 50% greater than before the CKFTA came into force.

About BC Seafood Expo Trade Show 2019

The BC Seafood Expo Trade Show 2019 will provide businesses the opportunity to meet face-to-face and showcase their products & services to seafood buyers, exporters, distributors and other providers from throughout BC and the pacific northwest.

For more information and how to register go to https://bcseafoodexpo.com/

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