'Premium European Products' campaign wraps up three years of introducing Greek and Latvian foods to Korea

The "Premium European Products" campaign, which has been introducing European agricultural and food products from Greece and Latvia to the Korean market, has concluded its three-year run.

Greece's National Agricultural Cooperative Union (ETHEAS) and Latvia's Dairy Council (LDC) announced Wednesday that the campaign, which ran from 2024, has wrapped up and that both organizations will seek follow-up cooperation opportunities based on the food industry networks they have built.

Titled "Premium European Products: Better Knowledge, Better Choice," the campaign was designed to raise awareness of European agricultural and food products and support consumption and export expansion across three markets — South Korea, Canada and Malaysia. In Korea, activities centered on participation in food exhibitions, business-to-business networking and media outreach to communicate the production backgrounds and quality characteristics of Greek and Latvian food products.

Over three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026, the campaign participated in domestic trade exhibitions, introducing representative products from the two countries to Korean food importers, retail companies and foodservice industry professionals while highlighting their potential in the Korean market.

Greece showcased a range of regional specialties, including extra virgin olive oil, table olives, Graviera cheese, Vostizza Corinthian currants, Krokos Kozanis saffron and Mastiha Hiou. The campaign focused particularly on products carrying Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification, communicating each product's distinctive regional production methods, origin management systems and culinary characteristics.

Latvia presented a variety of dairy products — cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese and curd snacks — alongside dried fruits, potato chips, cheese balls, chocolate and confectionery. By showcasing items ranging from dairy to processed foods and snacks, the campaign offered Korean food industry players new ideas for product sourcing and retail possibilities.

Networking events were also held to foster business cooperation with the domestic food industry. A B2B network dinner in Seoul brought together Korean food importers, foodservice buyers, retail professionals and food industry experts, who met with Greek and Latvian delegations to discuss potential cooperation on product imports and distribution.

The dinner featured fusion dishes incorporating ingredients from both countries into Korean cuisine, giving attendees a firsthand experience of the flavors and qualities of European ingredients and an opportunity to explore their potential for menu development in the Korean foodservice market. The event highlighted in particular how traditional European ingredients could be adapted to Korean cooking methods.

Alongside food promotion, the campaign also worked to deepen understanding of the EU's quality certification regime. It focused on the Geographical Indication (GI) system and PDO certification, explaining the origin, production methods and quality control standards of food products and sharing information about the European agricultural food production system.

PDO protects agricultural and food products whose characteristics are closely tied to the natural environment and production traditions of a specific region. To receive certification, all stages of production, processing and product preparation must take place within a designated geographical zone. Through this framework, the campaign explained the origins and production backgrounds of Greek regional specialties and introduced the raw material management and processing methods used in Latvian food production.

"Over the past three years, we have introduced a wide range of agricultural and food products from Greece and Latvia to the Korean market and created opportunities for direct engagement with domestic importers and distributors," a campaign official said. "We hope the connections formed through this project will lead to tangible trade expansion and new business cooperation."

ETHEAS is an agricultural organization representing more than 300 agricultural cooperatives across Greece, carrying out activities related to rural economic development, member cooperative support and international promotion. The LDC, established in 1995, is the representative body of Latvia's dairy industry, with 17 major producers accounting for approximately 80 percent of the country's industrial milk output as members. It works to advance the dairy processing industry and protect the interests of its member companies.

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