Dongwon F&B's Tuna Extract / Courtesy of Dongwon F&B

Dongwon Tuna Extract is helping lift Dongwon F&B across Korea’s cooking scene and retail market, as rising grocery and dine-in prices fuel a surge in home-cooking consumers.

The product has garnered fame as an all-purpose sauce with mostly positive reviews from consumers from those cooking at home to experienced professionals. Use for the sauce, with ingredients including over 80 percent of smoked tuna extract and radish, shiitake mushrooms and kelp, extends to not just Korean dishes but to Western and Japanese cuisines as well.

The market influencer by the subsidiary of Dongwon Industries that dominates the country’s tuna can market for more than 40 years hit retail shelves in 2022. In 2024, its sales spiked more than 50 percent from previous year. A total of 7.5 million bottles were sold by the end of last year.

Market analyst NielsenIQ Korea said the product lineup, which offers three different varieties, dominated the tuna extract market here from April 2025 to last month. In January, it won the Grand Prize in the tuna broth category at Korea First Brand Awards hosted by the Korea Consumer Forum.

Dongwon F&B said the product contains glutamic acid and inosinic acid, key umami flavor components, along with free amino acids that provide subtle sweetness, delivering a deep umami taste. It features relatively low levels of bitter-tasting amino acids such as valine, methionine and phenylalanine, contributing to its clean and refreshing flavor profile.

The tuna extract is produced by Dongwon Industries’ meticulous process. Caught tunas are stored in a fresh state and enzymatically decomposed under optimal conditions before going through a charcoal deodorization process and precision filtration technology. The method minimizes fishy odors while maximizing the sauce's umami flavor, creating a clean taste profile that even consumers sensitive to fishiness can consume.

“The quality unique to Dongwon Tuna Extract is driving consumer satisfaction. Through ongoing research and development and active marketing efforts, we will continue to establish ourselves as the leading company spearheading the tuna extract market,” a Dongwon F&B official said.

Source: Korea Times News