Nongshim next step welcomes traditional Korean Snacks with a twist thanks to Sanrio Characters

Korean food giant Nongshim is stepping deeper into K-culture marketing with a new campaign built around Olive Young and Sanrio characters. The push targets foreign tourists and younger shoppers who have made Korean snacks part of their Seoul travel checklist.

Nongshim will release two new snacks on August 30 as part of Olive Young's "Olyoungpick" campaign, a September promotion themed around regional Korean foods paired with Sanrio characters. The lineup includes "Chicken Leg Nugget Yangnyeom Chicken Flavor" and "Potato Chip Sweet Corn Flavor." Both packages feature Sanrio's Hello Kitty.

Each snack is built around a regional Korean dish. The chicken nugget product draws from Suwon's famous fried chicken, mixing a crunchy breaded coating with the sweet and spicy notes of Korean yangnyeom chicken through gochujang and tomato. The potato chip version leans on corn from Gangwon province, layering the sweet and salty flavor of sweet corn onto a thin, crisp chip.

Alongside the launches, Nongshim will run a pop-up store called the "Nongshim K-Snack Tour" for the entire month of September at Olive Young's Central Myeongdong Town. The pop-up will bring together 10 Nongshim snacks in one space, including the two new products, four items under the "Nongshim K-Bakery Snack" concept from the Ppangbujang line, two chicken-leg snacks under the "Nongshim K-Chicken Snack" concept, and two potato chip products.

The Myeongdong location is a clear signal of intent. The district is one of the most heavily trafficked shopping areas in Seoul for international visitors, and Olive Young's flagship there has become a required stop for tourists loading up on Korean beauty and snack products. Nongshim says the pop-up is designed to introduce the range of Korean flavors to young shoppers and foreign tourists in a familiar, playful way through its snacks.

"We hope this campaign lets consumers at home and abroad experience Nongshim snacks in a fresh and fun way," a Nongshim representative said. "We will keep expanding consumer experiences that show the appeal of Nongshim K-Snacks through a wide range of products and marketing."

The campaign fits a broader pattern in Korea's food industry, where legacy snack brands are leaning on character collaborations, pop-up retail, and tourist-facing packaging to ride the same wave of interest that has powered K-pop and K-beauty exports. For Nongshim, best known globally for Shin Ramyun, the Hello Kitty tie-in is less about novelty and more about staking a clearer claim on the K-snack category as it grows into a travel souvenir of its own.