As a child, James Seo was embarrassed to bring friends home, worrying about the smell of Korean food his mother prepared. Growing up in Sandy, Utah, he was the only Asian kid in his neighborhood. Now, Seo is sharing the Korean food he once wanted to hide with the entire United States. According to a report by Utah Business on the 28th, Seo and three other Korean-Americans, including Duk Kwon, co-founder of the Korean food chain Cupbop, have been promoting Korean cuisine through their food brand, Korean Bros tteokbokki.
Officially launched in January of this year, the brand has secured distribution deals to supply its products to Walmart and Target stores nationwide. Seo is an influencer known for his social media videos asking passersby, ‘One dollar or a surprise gift?’ He has also collaborated with famous YouTuber MrBeast. He produced a series of videos aimed at getting Korean Bros into Walmart; according to Utah Business, these videos reached approximately 500 million views on Instagram and TikTok.
While the videos were gaining traction, the company reached out directly to Walmart buyers via LinkedIn. Product development was informed by Kwon’s experience. After managing assets worth approximately $500 million on Wall Street for years, he left the financial industry to co-found Cupbop.
The flagship product for Korean Bros is tteokbokki. The development team visited several factories in Korea to find a way to keep the rice cakes from getting hard after being heated. They ultimately improved product quality by implementing a process that kneads the rice cakes three times to ensure a soft texture.
The packaging and product naming were also chosen with consumers unfamiliar with Korean food in mind, using vibrant colors and labeling the cheese tteokbokki as ‘Korean-style Mac & Cheese.’ Seo told Utah Business, ‘Korean Bros is more than just food; anyone should feel proud of their identity.’
