Ottogi Raises Prices on 29 Products as Food Costs Climb in Korea

Ottogi, one of South Korea’s largest packaged-food makers, will raise prices on 29 products starting July 16, adding fresh pressure to household grocery bills already strained by rising food costs. The increases span staple pantry goods including curry, glass noodles, ketchup and pepper, with the steepest rise reaching 17 percent.

Which Products Are Getting Pricier

The revision covers 29 items across several of Ottogi’s core categories. Curry, a fixture in Korean home cooking, rises 6.1 percent, while glass noodles made from sweet potato starch climb 10 percent. Ground pepper carries the largest increase at 17 percent, the top end of the adjustment. Ketchup is also among the affected products, rounding out a list weighted toward kitchen staples rather than discretionary purchases.

The new prices will not appear on shelves all at once. Ottogi (KRX: 007310) said the changes will filter through retail channels in stages, meaning the timing and exact shelf price shoppers see will vary by store and distributor even after July 16.

Why Ottogi Is Raising Prices

The company attributed the move to higher costs for both raw ingredients and secondary materials such as packaging. That framing points to a squeeze that runs deeper than any single commodity: when the inputs behind a broad basket of products all move up together, manufacturers tend to reset prices across a wide range of lines at once rather than absorb the margin hit.

The Broader Squeeze on Household Budgets

The adjustment lands amid persistent unease over the cost of everyday food in Korea, where the price of the basic home meal has become a recurring concern for consumers. Because the affected goods are low-cost, high-frequency purchases, even modest percentage increases feed directly into the weekly shopping total for most households. Staples like curry mix and glass noodles are hard to substitute away from, giving shoppers little room to sidestep the higher prices.

What to Watch After July 16

The phased rollout means the full impact will build over the coming weeks as distributors update their pricing. The more telling question is whether rival food makers follow with their own revisions. When a major producer moves on a broad slate of pantry items, competitors facing the same input costs often feel licensed to do the same, and it is that potential domino effect — rather than Ottogi’s list alone — that will determine how much heavier Korea’s grocery bills ultimately become.