The Korean food trend is having a moment in the UK.
But for food groups, wholesalers and foodservice buyers, this is about more than another short-lived food trend. Korean flavours have moved from specialist restaurants and social media into mainstream supermarkets, takeaway menus and everyday home cooking.
From gochujang and kimchi to Korean fried chicken, K-burgers and Korean BBQ, consumers are becoming increasingly familiar with the flavours, ingredients and dishes coming out of South Korea.
And that creates an opportunity for food businesses to think differently about the products they stock and the menu inspiration they offer their customers.
Korean food has officially moved into the mainstream
There was a time when ingredients such as gochujang, kimchi and Korean chilli pastes would have been specialist purchases. That’s changing quickly.
In 2025, Waitrose reported that sales of gochujang paste had increased by 71% year on year, while searches for gochujang on its website rose by 572%. Searches for Korean chicken and Korean BBQ also surged.
The trend has continued.
Ocado reported that searches for gochujang paste increased by 7,505% year on year, alongside the launch of a dedicated Korean food aisle featuring 20 new products. Its data also showed customers increasingly looking to cook Korean dishes from scratch at home.
And in 2026, the trend is showing up across the foodservice landscape too. The Guardian reported that Korean cuisine is booming in the UK, with increasing demand for dishes including bibimbap, bulgogi, tteokbokki and Korean fried chicken.
For wholesalers and buying groups, that’s an important distinction.
This isn’t simply a cuisine people are occasionally trying. Korean ingredients and flavour profiles are becoming familiar to consumers.
And familiarity makes it easier for operators to put Korean-inspired dishes on a menu.
So, why is Korean food so popular?
1. The Korean Wave has created a global appetite for Korean culture
Food hasn’t arrived in isolation.
Over the last decade, South Korean culture has become increasingly visible around the world through K-pop, Korean dramas, film, fashion, beauty and social media.
Consumers aren’t just listening to Korean music or watching Korean shows. They’re seeing what people eat, what products they use and how Korean culture fits into everyday life.
Research into changing perceptions of Korean food in the UK found a significant increase in media coverage of K-food alongside the growth of the wider Korean Wave.
This cultural familiarity matters because it creates curiosity.
Someone who discovers Korean food through a K-drama, sees Korean fried chicken on TikTok or spots gochujang in their local supermarket is more likely to recognise those flavours when they appear on a restaurant menu.
2. You’ve probably already seen K-food without realising how big it has become
Think about your own supermarket or high street.
Korean fried chicken restaurants and takeaway concepts are becoming increasingly visible across the UK, with Korean-style chicken, K-burgers, wings and loaded rice boxes appearing on delivery platforms.
Then there’s the supermarket.
Gochujang, kimchi, Korean noodles, Korean sauces and other Korean ingredients are increasingly easy to find in mainstream retail. Ocado’s decision to introduce a dedicated Korean aisle is a good illustration of how the category is expanding beyond specialist retailers.
And it isn’t only food.
You’ve probably seen the Korean trend in skincare too
If you’ve noticed K-beauty, you’ve already seen another part of the same cultural phenomenon.
Korean skincare has moved from a specialist online category to the mainstream UK high street. Boots reported that it sold one K-beauty product every 15 seconds in 2025, while Korean skincare brands and products have become increasingly visible in stores and on social media.
The popularity of concepts such as glass skin, double cleansing and Korean beauty routines has helped introduce millions of consumers to Korean culture.
K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty and K-food are all part of a much bigger cultural movement.
For food buyers, the important point is simple:
Consumers are already being introduced to Korea from multiple directions.
Food is one more way for them to engage with it.
Why Korean flavours work so well for foodservice
Korean cuisine offers something that is particularly useful for modern menus: big flavour without requiring an entirely new menu format.
Gochujang, for example, brings together chilli heat, sweetness, fermentation and umami.
That means it can be used across familiar formats:
- Crispy chicken or turkey
- Burgers
- Wings
- Wraps
- Loaded fries
- Rice bowls
- Noodles
- Meatballs
- Sharing dishes
- Dipping sauces
- Glazes and marinades
This versatility is important for wholesalers and food groups.
Operators don’t necessarily need to launch an entirely Korean menu.
They can take a product they already understand and give it a Korean-inspired twist.
A crispy poultry product can become Korean fried chicken.
A turkey burger can become a K-burger.
Turkey meatballs can be glazed with Korean-inspired flavours.
And a breaded turkey escalope can become the centrepiece of an Asian-inspired burger.
That’s where the opportunity becomes particularly interesting for poultry suppliers.
Why Korean flavours and poultry are a natural fit
Korean food has a strong association with crispy, saucy poultry.
Korean fried chicken is perhaps the clearest example.
The combination of crunch + sauce + heat + sweetness + acidity creates exactly the kind of textural and flavour contrast that works well in contemporary foodservice.
It also lends itself brilliantly to formats that operators already know how to sell.
At Riverside Foods, we’ve been exploring exactly this idea through our recipe development.
Our aim isn’t simply to tell buyers that Korean food is trending.
It’s to demonstrate how existing poultry products can be used to create menu-ready dishes inspired by the trend.
Korean-inspired recipe ideas from Riverside Foods
We’ve put together a selection of recipes that show how our poultry products can be adapted to contemporary Asian and Korean-inspired menus.
