Boxes of vegan Melona ice cream bars are sold at a Carrefour store near Montpellier, France, on April 28. [JOONGANG ILBO]
In a freezer at a Carrefour store outside Montpellier, France, a Korean snack is quietly signaling a new phase of K-food globalization: a plant-based, dairy-free version of the melon-flavored ice cream bar Melona, designed not for Korean consumers, but to break into markets that once shut Korean ice cream out.
After Europe and Canada tightened dairy import regulations, Korean ice cream makers found themselves largely locked out of Western frozen dessert markets.
Companies like Binggrae, maker of Melona, and Lotte Wellfood are now using reformulations to bypass those trade barriers and tapping into rising global demand for vegan and wellness-focused foods — turning what began as a regulatory workaround into one of the fastest-growing export categories for Korean food.
The growth comes after years of steep barriers for ice cream exports to North America and Europe, where strict sanitary standards, quarantine rules and dairy origin certification requirements made it difficult for foreign frozen dairy products to enter the market.
By removing dairy from the product, Korean companies were able to bypass many of the regulations that had limited access to overseas markets. A total of 92 percent of vegan Melona sales last year came from Canada and Europe, where its traditional dairy-based ice cream products had previously faced export restrictions, according to Binggrae on Wednesday.
“We are actively launching plant-based ice cream treats in regions such as Europe, where high nontariff barriers are imposed on dairy products, as a way to break through export barriers," a Binggrae representative said. "We plan to expand overseas sales by broadening the distribution of our plant-based products, including vegan Melona, which is currently sold at Carrefour stores across Europe, and the vegan Bungeo-Samanco [fish-shaped ice cream sandwich], which was launched late last year.”
Products are sold inside a Carrefour store near Montpellier, France, on April 28. [JOONGANG ILBO]
Binggrae is not alone. Lotte Wellfood debuted its vegan ice cream brand, JOEE, at Anuga Food Fair 2025, one of the world's largest food industry trade fairs, held in Germany last year. The company is currently exporting JOEE to Vietnam and Australia, effectively identifying the brand as a breakthrough into the European market.
The timing reflects a broader global shift. The wellness trend — centered on physical and mental health, and increasingly tied to plant-based diets — has driven growing consumer demand for dairy-free frozen desserts across Western markets, giving Korean companies a product category that aligns with the trajectory of international tastes.
The commercial results are significant.
Korea's ice cream exports rose 21 percent on year to a record $118.74 million last year, surpassing the $100 million mark for the first time, according to the Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
That performance earned ice cream a place among the 11 agricultural food categories that hit all-time export records last year, alongside bakery products and pork. The growth has continued into 2026: First quarter ice cream exports came in at $31 million, up 18 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The ministry credited the trend directly to product innovation.
"K-ice cream, moving away from its dairy-based origins, is growing rapidly in overseas markets including Europe," the ministry said in a statement. "The launch of new products reflecting wellness food trends has particularly contributed to the expansion of exports."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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