Demand for Korean food products on the rise in Qatar

Speaking to Gulf Times, an employee of Kingdom Food Centre, a newly-opened store in Al Thumama, said that they have been receiving an increasing number of walk-in customers in the past few weeks who are looking for a variety of Korean food items. “Besides Korean expatriates, many Qataris, Filipinos, and other Arab nationals visit our store to buy kimchi, noodles and other authentic Korean stuff,” she noted.She added that the demand for other items such as Korean cooking oil and different kinds of condiments, as well as chocolates, milk, and citron tea, is also increasing.The store, which also offers free delivery, recorded an increase in orders from several Korean and Japanese restaurants operating in various locations in Doha, according to the employee.“Even other restaurants here that use Korean spices and condiments also order products from us,” she said. The store wants to bring in more items soon to serve their customers, who are also looking for other popular products and brands.It is learnt that many Filipinos who are fond of Korean food often get their orders from the Korean store/grocery along Al Jazeera street in Bin Omran.An official from the South Korean embassy in Doha echoed her statement saying that at least three Korean stores are already operating now in Qatar.However, he disclosed that the 2,000 South Korean expatriate population in Qatar is slightly decreasing because some of their projects have been completed recently.“We noticed a growing interest for Korean food products in Qatar,” he said, citing that major supermarkets and hypermarkets have started displaying more items, especially kimchi, in their shelves compared to previous months. Besides Korean food, the official also disclosed that they also see a huge demand for Korean cosmetics and other skin care products in Doha.He cited Korean cosmetics as world-class and known to be of high quality and popular even in other countries, apart from electronics and cars. It is learnt that South Korea is becoming highly popular globally in skin care for producing natural and “less irritating products.” It is also exporting a huge amount of cosmetics to countries in various regions, including the GCC.