One of Korea’s Most Popular Brands
The first brand that comes to mind when you think of ‘CheilJedang’
One of the longest-running Korean brands, trusted over decades
The brand that spearheaded the growth of CJ CheilJedang
These lines all describe one thing: Beksul. CJ CheilJedang’s Beksul is one of the most familiar, best loved and long-lasting brands in Korea, and has been a fixture on Korean dining tables for generations. But where did these decades of expertise and brand development begin? Today, CJ Newsroom takes a look back on the Beksul story, starting with its humble origins.
Beksul-pyo Sugar, Which was Only Available in Bakeries, Makes the Leap Into Household Kitchens
“ CheilJedang is proud to launch its new product: Beksul-pyo sugar, specially designed for households. We hope that this and all our products will continue to earn your trust and satisfaction in the future.”
The above is an advertisement originally published in a newspaper in April 1965, and it marked the first time the CheilJedang household sugar brand ‘Beksul-pyo(also known as Beksul brand in the future)’ was introduced to consumers nationwide. Back then, a clean, simple snowflake logo was printed on the packaging, one that would gradually expand out to all kinds of sugar product packaging and advertisements.
Beksul-pyo has its origins in a report published two years earlier in 1963. In February of that year, CheilJedang had conducted a comprehensive internal review to determine the nature of demand in the Korean sugar business. According to the report, it found that households accounted for 40% of the country’s sugar consumption, demonstrating that sugar was firmly rooted in the lives of families in Korea.
This was a pivotal moment for CheilJedang, which was quick to act on the report’s findings. Previously, confectioners and bakeries had been the main clients for sugar, but now the company turned its attention to households and housewives. With an expanded market, of course, came new product packaging and presentation. Prior to this, CheilJedang sugar came packaged in units of 33lb(15kg), which was too big for home use and not a good size for mass distribution. Since 1964, the newly packaged Beksul-pyo sugar has been available to consumers in units of 0.66lb(300g) and 0.82lb(375g).
The Birth of Beksul-pyo Sugar, Flour, and Seasonings… Becomes the Most Popular Gift
In 1964, CheilJedang held an in-house contest to come up with a name for the new brand, with ‘Beksul-pyo’ being the ultimate winner. The name – which has connotations of pure, clean, rich and eternal – was ideal. With a snowflake logo design that was selected going along with the pure image of sugar.
The new Beksul-pyo sugar product was a big hit, with its portability being a particular selling point, making it perfect for outdoor and public cooking settings. CheilJedang also introduced a special gift-packaged version in 1965. One department store reported that the 13lb(6kg) proved to be the most popular gift of that year. In November 1965, CheilJedang committed even more of its products to the successful Beksul-pyo brand, expanding Beksul-pyo to cover flour and seasoning too. Two years later, CheilJedang’s entire sugar product line was consolidated under Beksul-pyo. By October of the same year the brand included all flour products and by 1972 seasoning products were standardized under the Beksul-pyo brand as well.
How the Snowflake Stayed With Beksul From National Staple to Global Brand
From 1956 to 1964, the English letters ‘CS’ were used as the brand’s logo. Arranged side by side inside a diamond shape, these stood for Cheil(‘best’ in Korean) and Sugar. It was simple and easy to recognize, but by 1965 the company wanted to explore new styles. At this time, CheilJedang opted for a trademark depicting an elegantly detailed white snowflake silhouette against a black circle, the first time the brand evoked the image of snow for its sugar.
Discover more about ‘CheilJedang’ and its philosophy of ‘engage with the best spirit’ here.
After that, a new logo was developed that simplified the snowflake design, rendering it in straighter lines with smoothed edges and a cool primary blue color.
In 2004, CheilJedang aimed to reposition Beksul as a specialized cooking ingredient brand, and rebranded it once again to suit the new image. This new logo featured three spoons –representing cooking, food and the joy of eating, respectively – in the form of a star. The colors scheme used for the spoons was orange, red and blue, symbolizing love, family and pride.
In 2009, Beksul underwent another major change. By then, the brand had grown to be a huge presence in the food industry, offering a wide range of ingredient products. Consequently, it was given a new look, with a bold red color symbolizing energy and passion. The brand name was also changed to English to clearly convey its desire to move into the global market.
In 2012, Beksul was bringing in sales of 1.5 trillion won(1.3 billion USD) for the company and covered everything from sugar to flour cooking oil, DASIDA seasoning and processed meats. At this juncture, the brand was consolidated around a logo representing tradition, taking Beksul back to its roots. The result was a stately but stylish logo, crowned by the classic red snowflake and accompanied by a slogan emphasizing the brand’s rich heritage: “The Same Great Taste Since 1953”.
Delicious Snow: Beksul’s Efforts in Brand Storytelling
In 2012, along with its new look, Beksul developed a new storytelling marketing campaign, with the aim of emphasizing familiarity and trust with loyal customers.
“Same great taste, then and now.
Bringing the delicious taste of Beksul snow to your dinner table.”
In 2023, the brand introduced a new logo and slogan to celebrate its 70th anniversary, with a message that decades of Beksul customers can easily relate to: “Simply make every meal taste better”.
