[Food] Why Ottogi, a National Brand, Is Appearing on wadiz Instead of in Supermarkets

Have you ever heard the phrase “big-company taste”? It’s a term used to describe the delicious, satisfying flavor of famous food brands—products perfected through a rigorous development process. Behind that exceptional taste lies far more dedication and effort than we might realize.

Discover the story of Ottogi, a beloved national food brand, as their maker shares the fascinating and detailed behind-the-scenes story of their new product through a wadiz funding campaign.

Why is Ottogi appearing on wadiz
Keep Appearing on Wadiz Instead of Supermarkets

Hello. We’re Yoo Kwang-seon (Y below) from Ottogi’s e-Biz Sales Team, who manages our wadiz funding campaigns, and Kim Seo-jeong (K below), the ramen marketing PM who developed “Jeju Ttottot Ramen.” Ottogi is a brand that enjoys identifying everyday problems and solving them through food.As part of this effort,we’ve introduced various products on wadiz, including “Olive Basil Tuna”—developed so that even the oil in a can of tuna can be used without waste— “Chim Ham,” a ham made from chicken containing 34g of protein, and “Jeju Ttottot Ramen,” which has received the most love from our supporters.

This is already the fifth funding campaign we’ve launched this year alone. The reason we keep appearing on wadiz rather than in supermarkets is to share the story of what Ottogi loves—creating better products and new flavors. Since products go through countless processes before launch, we have so much we want to say. The most recent funding campaign to conclude was Ttottot Ramen projectwas no exception.

“Jeju Ttottot Ramen,” which successfully secured over 100 million won in funding,
We put our heart and soul into the taste and quality

SBS’s “Baek Jong-won’s Alley Restaurant” – Jeju Geumak Village Episode | Scene featuring Ottogi Jin Ramen

K I was a big fan of the SBS show “Baek Jong-won’s Alley Restaurant.” One day, while watching the show, I saw that a place called “Geumak Ttottot Ramen” in Geumak Village on Jeju Island was using Ottogi Jin Ramen in their cooking. It was a shop that sold ramen with pork chunks, minced garlic, and the owner’s secret seasoning sauce, and I was impressed by how hard the owner worked to achieve the perfect flavor.

Around that time, an ideacame upwithin my ramen department to collaborate with a restaurant to launch an RMR (Restaurant Meal Replacement) product, soI proposed a collaboration with “Geumak Ttottot Ramen,” which had left a lasting impression on me. Since the shop already had name recognition from TV appearances, its taste was guaranteed, and it was a place that used our ramen, I thought it would make for an interesting collaboration.

Fortunately, my team members were on board, so I traveled down to Jeju Island to meet with Kim Jong-wook, the CEO of “Geumak Ttottot Ramen.” Thanks to the CEO’s enthusiasm for the idea, we were able to begin product development.

The product development process wasn’t exactly easy. I had to fly from Seoul to Jeju Island and visit very frequently. One day, I was on my way to Jeju early in the morning when I got into a car accident and even ended up in the hospital (laughs). Even so, I kept visiting Jeju consistently andput a lot of effort into recreating the authentic taste of “Geumak Ttottot Ramen” served there.

Ttot-ttot Ramen with garlic chunks from Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City

For example, “Jeju Ttottot Ramen” is packed with local Jeju ingredients.In fact, the product bears the “Only Jeju” mark—a certification that requires direct approval from the Jeju Provincial Government.

The garlic blocks included with the ramen are also from Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City. We could have used any garlic, but I personally suggested to the development team that we use Daejeong garlic because of its rich, pungent, and deep flavor. Fortunately, there were no issues with sourcing the ingredients, so we were able to create a product of such high quality that it’s more than worthy of being a Jeju souvenir.

Wadiz was the only place
Wadiz was the only place

K Ottogiis committed to developing trend-setting new products based on a solid understanding of the market and consumers. Among these, we’re particularly focused on launching products that tell meaningful stories.

Just like with “Jeju Ttottot Ramen,” we believe that even an ordinary product like ramen will be recognized first by consumers when it’s imbued with a distinctive Story. I believe that the fact over 2,700 supporters participated in the “Jeju Ttottot Ramen” funding campaign—raising over 100 million won—was made possible because we were able to fully convey, through wadiz, how this product came to be and the meaning it embodies.

As PMKim Seo-jeongmentioned earlier, Ottogi puts a tremendous amount of care into developing new products. As a result, there are so many aspects we want to highlight. However, through offline channels or other e-commerce platforms we’d used in the past, our opportunities to fully showcase the product’s appeal were limited.

On wadiz, however, we could showcase the details we wanted to share about the product in depth and communicate closely with our supporters, which really satisfied that need.

Our best-performing product, “Jeju Ttottot Ramen,” succeeded partly because it allowed people to experience the flavors of a famous local restaurant, but I believe a major factor was our ability to share the detailed Story behind its development. 

Through communication with our supporters,
we were able to foster a closer connection with the Ottogi brand.

Encouraging messages received from supporters before the funding launch

YIespeciallythink that communicating with our supporters is one of the biggest appeals of wadiz funding. Reading the comments and posts they left directly on the Community page, I could really feel how sincere wadiz supporters are—both about the funding campaign and about our Ottogi brand.

Interacting with supporters who cheered us on so warmly felt like a source of healing even while I was working. Developing and promoting new products isn’t exactly easy, so I was truly grateful for their consistent support. Of course,I think it also had a positive impact on our brand image.

Pre-launch promotion is just as important as the launch itself, and it was a huge help that we could gauge consumer interest in the new product in advance. 

If you’re confident in your compelling story and active communication,
don’t hesitate to try a wadiz funding campaign.

If you’re an aspiring maker with a unique storybehind your productorservice , I highly recommend actively pursuing a wadiz funding campaign. It might feel unfamiliar at first, but I believe you’ll see better results when you naturally connect with your supporters. That’s why I’d like to encourage you to communicate more actively with your supporters during your funding campaign. 

We also plan to continue introducing new products through wadiz—products with plenty of features we’re proud to highlight. Following “Jeju Ttottot Ramen,”we’realreadyrunning funding foranother new product, “Mac & Cheese Balls.” We’re excited to see what kind of supporters will join us this time, and we hope you’ll continue to follow Ottogi’s wadiz funding journey.

Why Ottogi has run six funding campaigns on wadiz— Check out the video!

Written by Jeong So-jeong,Edited by Han Ji-hye
▶ This content was first featured on the wadiz blog. If you’re curious about more stories from the blog, check itout here!