Kimchi, which represents K-Food, is a traditional Korean food. It is manufactured in a complicated process, and its taste varies depending on how long it is aged. So, it was not easy for overseas consumers to purchase properly aged Kimchi. However, there is a product that can alleviate this concern: ‘Kimchi V’ of Open Sauce Lab. ‘Kimchi V’, a Kimchi block product, can be used as a main dish or a seasoning in various dishes according to your taste. When you take pictures abroad, people say 'cheese', while in Korea people say 'Kimchi' instead, and make a V with their hands. Kimchi V means the will to make people around the world laugh with the taste of Kimchi.

#Kimchi V, Freeze-Dried Korean Kimchi
Open Source Lab is a new company established in 2021 by Park Jin-soo, Chief Executive Officer of Open Source Lab, who was a Western chef. Later while working as a food researcher for a food company, he participated in the development of about 1,000 recipes. Working as a chef and a food researcher at the Korea Food Research Institute, CEO Park Jin-soo realized that Kimchi, the soul food of Korea, is difficult to use in cooking, so the product he developed was  ‘Kimchi V’.
‘Kimchi V,’ the core product of Open Source Lab, is made by stir-frying Kimchi made with 100% Korean ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, tomato paste, apple, and onion, and then freeze-drying it at minus 40℃. It preserves the taste, color, and flavor of Kimchi as it is, and is made in a block form of 5㎝ wide and 1㎝ thick, respectively. The shelf life is about 14 months at room temperature, more than twice that of regular stir-fried Kimchi.

CEO Park said, “The advantage of Kimchi V in one sentence is that you can enjoy properly ripened Kimchi with the same taste throughout the year. Kimchi tastes different depending on the aging period. If we want people from different cultures to taste Kimchi, it should taste the same, be easy, and convenient.”

#It Can Be Used As A Main Dish or Condiment.
‘Kimchi V’ can be used in various ways. If you add 40㎖ of water to one Kimchi block, it becomes stir-fried Kimchi as it is, or you can just break it up, and eat it or use it as a Kimchi-flavored seasoning. According to CEO Park Jin-soo, ‘Kimchi V’ goes well with all kinds of food in the world, including ravioli, rice noodles, ramyeon, udon, and pizza.
Thanks to such advantages, ‘Kimchi V’ is actively exported to Germany, where images of eating ‘Kimchi V’ with sandwiches, pasta, and sausages are being uploaded on social media. After being introduced locally through the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation(aT) Paris branch and receiving positive responses, it has been sold online and offline as a stand-alone product. In addition, an experiential-type meal kits containing ‘Kimchi V’, such as Kimchi Jeon (pancake) and Kimchi Rice, were also released. In addition, with the support of the aT Tokyo branch, Open Source Lab has completed the trial export of ‘Kimchi V’ to Japan, and products to be released this year are being discussed with a Japanese super chain company.
Probiotics are alive in ‘Kimchi V’. Lactic acid bacteria applied with patented coating technology was put into the manufacturing process, and ‘Kimchi V’ containing probiotics is currently applying for a patent. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Open Source Lab is also releasing ‘Kimchi V’ products for vegans. 

#Innovation Award In ‘SIAL Paris 2022’
‘Kimchi V’ won the ‘Innovation Award’ in the ‘Grocery Savoury Products’ category at ‘SIAL Paris 2022’ held in Paris, France. As a result obtained by competing with about 1,800 products from the exhibition, it also means that ‘Kimchi V’ has been recognized as a product that can increase the utilization of Kimchi while maintaining the original taste of Korean Kimchi. Open Source Lab, along with the aT Paris branch, is planning to enter the European market in earnest in the first half of 2023.
Open Source Lab aims to release 10 global products within 5 years. Like the Kimchi block, it is thinking of making a product that can be used quickly, accurately, and easily by anyone with the most Korean ingredients. An example is ‘Ginseng Pepper’ using ginseng, a representative agricultural food of Korea.
CEO Park Jin-soo said “I imagine people enjoying Korean Kimchi in the hot desert, in the Antarctic where everything freezes, and in the remote Amazon of South America. I see this as the popularization of Kimchi. I will draw a future in which  Korean food spreads not only to Kimchi, but also to marginalized places that have not experienced Korean food.”

Open Sauce Lab
Website: www.opensaucelab.com
Phone: 070-4065-0325
E-mail: neo1626@hanmail.net