Korean sauce brand Yogiyo has secured a national supermarket listing - and the backing of Dragons’ Den dragon Peter Jones.
The Birmingham-based business will roll out its three sauces to 450 Sainsbury’s stores from October. The range comprises a cooking sauce and a dipping sauce based on Gochujang, a fermented chilli paste described as a cornerstone of Korean cuisine; and meat marinade galbi, which has a sweet, umami flavour.
News of the listing comes just days after TV viewers saw Yogiyo’s founders - husband and wife team Sue Youn and Ben Ansah - exchange a 33% share of the business for a £50,000 investment by Jones on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den show. Eight years ago, Jones was one of the dragons to invest in Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae sauce brand.
“Peter Jones was the natural partner for us and the experience he has brought to the brand has been invaluable,” said Ansah. “Interest in Korean food has started to gain pace globally and our sauces offer people an easy way to bring the biggest flavours of Korea to their own kitchens.”
The couple began their business selling street food from a stall in London’s Leather Lane Market, with customer requests to take their Gochujang sauce home prompting the launch of the products. They teamed up with distributor World of Zing to sell the sauces online and in delis, before they were listed by Selfridges this spring.
Echoing Ansah, Sainsbury’s speciality ingredients buyer Lucy McCarthy said Korean cuisine was becoming increasingly popular. “With expertly made and quality products, we’re confident the range and flavours will be a great success with our shoppers,” she added.
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