Interest in ‘value-conscious consumption’, for eco-friendly and health, is increasing worldwide. It’s based on the belief that it’s right to reduce unnecessary waste and to eat healthy. Beans are one of the best raw materials for this trend because they are high in vegetable protein which is beneficial for the body, and are suitable to be used to make processed foods. Naemuk CO., LTD., located in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do, is a company that focuses on such characteristics of beans. Since its establishment in 2017, Naemuk has been concentrating on producing processed bean products, especially silken Dubu (tofu), with which the company is tapping into global markets.

# Healthy and Tasty
The representative products produced by Naemuk are Sunsik (eaten raw) Dubu and Soy Pudding. As the health functional food market grew, the company achieved commercialization after three years of research and is currently selling the products at Costco and on Coupang, the largest e-commerce company in Korea. What Naemuk put forward as the special features of these products are the fact that they can be ‘eaten raw’, and have excellent ‘nutritional value’. Hence, their main target age groups are menopausal women, busy office workers, and the elderly.

Kim Jong-young, Deputy Manager of Naemuk, said, “Many people know that eaten raw is good for the body, but it’s difficult to eat raw food often because it’s not tasty. Since our products are in the forms of raw (silken Dubu) and pudding, they have their own merits that they can be taken with salad, and that they are convenient to eat and can be used in various recipes such as Kimchi and soy sauce. Above all, they are characterized by their higher levels of dietary fiber, saponin, and isoflavone than products on the market.” In fact, a study by the Korea Rural Development Administration found that Naemuk’s products are five times higher in dietary fiber, 270 times higher in saponin than the existing Dubu products. Additionally, isoflavone was confirmed to be 1.5 times higher. Isoflavone is one of soy proteins, and has functions similar to estrogen, a female hormone.

# The Secret is in the Nine Processes and Whole Soy Curds
The secret lies in the manufacturing process and raw materials. Naemuk only uses soybeans produced at 600 meters above sea level in Gangwon-do, Korea, as raw materials for their Dubu products. Also, unlike regular Dubu products, ‘Biji (pureed soybean)’ is not filtered out. ‘Whole soy curd’ indicates that all the soybean components are used in manufacturing the products. Biji refers to the residue left after grinding beans and squeezing out bean water, and regular Dubu does not contain Biji. The reason why Naemuk makes whole soy curds is because the healthy ingredients of beans are contained in Biji. The same reason applies to the insistence on using only highland soybeans as raw materials. However, since bean powder can be felt, the manufacturing method was changed to finely grinding beans. According to Naemuk, the size of the bean powder made in this way is 600 mash, which is an extremely small size considering that the particles of flour are 300 mash.
Deputy Manager Kim Jong-young explained, “Naemuk is the largest single producer of Dubu in Korea, and can produce up to 50,000 Dubu a day. It goes through nine processes to make Dubu. So we can make very fine bean powder, and the flavor of the beans is richer. Also, there is a little water in the Dubu, and it’s quite nutritious.” Recently, animal testing has been done for the components of this water. That’s how confident they are in the quality of their products.

# Pioneering Routes to Vegetarian Export Markets 
Naemuk recently obtained Halal certification. Before entering the Islamic and European markets, Halal certification was obtained to inform that its products are ‘vegan’. In addition, with the increasing number of vegetarians in the US and Australia, and high preference, obtaining Halal certification is expected to bolster exports to these countries in the future. Recently, amidst the popularity of healthy foods, snacks made of Dubu have entered the commercialization phases, and the development of Hangwa (traditional Korean sweets) will soon be completed. They will be sold as healthy snacks, and there is no need to be concerned about consuming gluten because they contain no flour.
Also, in order to reach out to adults, the company is accelerating development of noodles made of Dubu. Lactobacillus Dubu containing prebiotics has already been developed, for which packaging development is under way, and will soon be released. 
Deputy Manager Kim Jong-young said, “We will strive to become a company that immediately comes to mind regarding Dubu not only for Korean consumers but for overseas consumers as well.”

Naemuk CO., LTD.
Website : www.soydream.co.kr
Telephone : 1599-8903
E-mail : myfood_tofu@naver.com