Food industry competes on texture as consumers look beyond taste

The standard for choosing food is expanding beyond taste to texture. Food companies are rolling out a range of texture-focused products — from noodles differentiated by thickness and elasticity to crispy snacks and desserts designed to be cracked open before eating.

Myeon Sarang, a noodle and sauce specialist, is offering four cold noodle varieties — Pyongyang naengmyeon, Hamheung naengmyeon, arrowroot naengmyeon and jjolmyeon — developed using a cold-aging technology that preserves each noodle's natural texture. Each variety delivers a distinct mouthfeel.

The Pyongyang naengmyeon combines buckwheat flour and potato starch for a chewy yet springy bite, while the Hamheung naengmyeon uses potato starch to produce thin, fine noodles with elasticity and a sticky chew. The arrowroot naengmyeon blends roasted buckwheat flour with domestically sourced arrowroot juice, emphasizing a dense, stretchy texture and the root's distinctive flavor. The jjolmyeon, modeled after the style served at Korean snack restaurants, features a firm, bouncy noodle that resists clumping.

CJ CheilJedang has launched three varieties of Bibigo Gim Bugak — original glutinous rice, spicy and shrimp — made using a traditional preparation method to maximize crispiness. The seaweed crisps are coated in a paste made from 100 percent domestically grown glutinous rice, dried and then deep-fried.

Retailers are also using texture as a point of differentiation. Convenience store chain CU has released a heart tiramisu and, in collaboration with Yonsei Milk, a crack-open heart cream bread — a cream-filled bun topped with a chocolate coating that shatters crisply when tapped with a hand or spoon.

"Consumers are increasingly factoring in the eating experience — the springiness or chewiness of noodles, the crunch of a dessert — alongside taste," a food industry official said. "Products that reflect diverse preferences through manufacturing technology tailored to each item's characteristics will continue to draw attention."