KOTRA held the "Taste of Korea 2026" showcase with JFC International, North America's largest Asian food distributor, near Los Angeles on Saturday. [KOTRA]
KOTRA held the "Taste of Korea 2026" showcase with JFC International, North America's largest Asian food distributor, near Los Angeles on Saturday. [KOTRA]

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced Tuesday it is formally launching a one-stop logistics support program for Korean food companies seeking to supply US specialty food distributors, led by its Los Angeles trade office.

The program provides end-to-end logistics assistance — covering import customs clearance, warehousing and cold-chain inland transport — through an overseas shared logistics center, while also connecting participating companies with local B2B marketing support for direct supply to major retail networks.

Building on that supply chain infrastructure, KOTRA held the "Taste of Korea 2026" showcase near Los Angeles on Saturday (local time) with JFC International, North America's largest Asian food distributor.

Six Korean food companies presented a range of products at the event — including frozen kimbap, desserts and protein powder — preparing samples on-site for attendees to taste. About 500 representatives from major food retail chains, restaurants and hotels that do business with JFC attended and evaluated the products for potential purchase.

JFC International is a subsidiary of Kikkoman Group, the Japanese soy sauce brand, and operates as a major food wholesale and distribution company supplying Japanese and Asian food products across the United States and North America. The company supplies products to major retail chains including Walmart, Kroger and Safeway, as well as restaurants and hotels, with a network of roughly 10,000 client stores.

A JFC official said the event gave the company a chance to see firsthand the range of Korean food products backed by strong product quality and logistics capabilities. "As US consumer demand for Korean food continues to grow, logistics competitiveness has become essential for expanding in the local market," the official said, adding that the collaboration would help JFC supply more Korean food products to local consumers through its distribution network.

Lee Geum-ha, head of KOTRA's North America regional headquarters, said the agency had built a one-stop gateway for Korean companies to enter the largest Asian food distribution network in the United States by integrating local certification, customs clearance and logistics support through its K-consumer goods logistics desk. "We will continue to combine logistics infrastructure with tailored marketing to actively support the diversification of our companies' export channels and help them break into a wider range of local distribution networks," Lee said.

Meanwhile, KOTRA has been stepping up efforts to expand export opportunities and open new sales channels for K-food, including recently hosting a "2026 Germany K-Food Promotion Fair" at the Eschborn branch of Globus, a major German hypermarket chain.


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