Jung Kwan Jang's red ginseng to hit shelves of Sprouts Farmers Markets in US

A customer shops for Jung Kwan Jang's red ginseng products at a Sprouts Farmers Market in this undated file photo. Courtesy of Korea Ginseng Corp.

Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC) signed a contract with Sprouts Farmers Market to sell its red ginseng products under the brand name of Jung Kwan Jang at the U.S. grocery store chain specializing in organic and gluten-free foods, KGC said Wednesday.

This is the first time for a Korean health supplements maker to sell its products at Sprouts, which runs 415 supermarkets throughout the United States and posts around $7 billion in annual revenue.

KGC will supply various types of Jung Kwan Jang’s red ginseng products palatable to its customers in the U.S.

The company said the products sold at Sprouts are less bitter than similar products sold in Korea.

“We will increase the production of red ginseng tailored for customers in each country,” a KGC official said. “We will lead enthusiasm for Korean health supplements in the global market by entering larger online and offline channels worldwide.”

KGC has already sold Jung Kwan Jang’s red ginseng products to U.S. customers via Amazon and around 140 Costco Wholesale locations. The ginseng firm attributed its recent deal with Sprouts to favorable reviews from U.S. customers who had tried Jung Kwan Jang’s products.

According to KGC, sales of Jung Kwan Jang’s red ginseng products at Costco stores in the U.S. jumped 150 percent year-on-year during the first five months of this year.