Pasta orders quadruple in a year as company adds sauces, oils to lineup

Company sources overseas brands directly for exclusive B2B supply in South Korea

Samsung Welstory holds a launch event for Vitto, an Italian food brand it sources globally for exclusive supply to the B2B market. [Samsung Welstory]
Samsung Welstory holds a launch event for Vitto, an Italian food brand it sources globally for exclusive supply to the B2B market. [Samsung Welstory]

Samsung Welstory announced Thursday it has launched Italian food brand Vitto and will expand its product lineup for the business-to-business market.

The launch event was held Wednesday at High Street Italia, a venue operated by the Italian Trade Agency. About 200 people attended, including food service clients, prospective customers and culinary students specializing in Western cuisine.

Vitto is a brand of Italian food company Atlante, whose products are distributed across Europe, the United States and Japan. The lineup includes pasta, tomato sauce, olive oil and balsamic products. Samsung Welstory sources Vitto products directly and supplies them exclusively to the domestic B2B market.

Samsung Welstory first introduced two Vitto pasta varieties last November to gauge market response. The company said repeat purchases drove order volumes from clients to more than quadruple within roughly a year of the initial launch. It has since expanded the lineup to seven products, adding whole and pronto tomato varieties, balsamic cream and two types of olive oil.

Demand for Western food ingredients is growing. Samsung Welstory's procurement of Western ingredients has risen an average of 7 percent annually over the past three years. The company plans to develop Vitto into a comprehensive brand covering all the ingredients needed for Italian menus — from pasta to sauces and oils.

Vitto represents Samsung Welstory's broader push to directly source and exclusively distribute overseas brands in South Korea. "We will expand ingredient solutions that help clients effectively incorporate our products into their actual menus, contributing to their business competitiveness," a company official said.

Meanwhile, chef Won Jong-min, a runner-up on "Iron Chef," appeared at the event to share his criteria for selecting Italian ingredients and demonstrate how to use each Vitto product. Attendees sampled dishes made with Vitto products, including finger food, salsiccia tomato pasta and salad. New products — four pasta varieties including linguine and rigatoni, basil pesto and balsamic vinegar — were also on display.

Dishes prepared using Vitto products are presented to guests at the brand's launch event. [Samsung Welstory]
Dishes prepared using Vitto products are presented to guests at the brand's launch event. [Samsung Welstory]

andy@heraldcorp.com