Business · Companies · 4 hrs ago
South Korea’s Hetbahn Has Sold 6.84 Billion Packs of Instant Rice
Hetbahn helped change how South Koreans think about rice, challenging the idea that it must be cooked at home.
The microwave-ready rice brand launched in 1996 and quickly found a place in the market.
Its success helped make instant rice a familiar choice, even as competing products appeared.
More one- and two-person households and more working couples helped the market grow.
Hetbahn had sold 6.84 billion packs by the end of last year, and its cumulative sales are expected to reach 10 trillion won by the end of this year.
The brand is now being considered for American dining tables, though the available information does not say what comes next.
South Korea’s Hetbahn has sold 6.84 billion packs of instant rice cumulatively through last year.
The brand took hold by challenging the idea that rice should always be cooked at home.
Instant rice has grown alongside increases in one- and two-person households and dual-income couples.
Hetbahn remains a byword for instant rice despite the arrival of competing products.
- Who
- Hetbahn, a South Korean instant-rice brand.
- What
- It has sold 6.84 billion packs cumulatively through last year.
- When
- The cumulative sales figure was recorded through last year; the article was published on October 24, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- The article links growth in the instant-rice market to increases in one- and two-person households and dual-income couples.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Actor Kim Hye-ja tasted microwave-heated Hetbahn and said it tasted like freshly cooked rice.
Hetbahn’s cumulative sales reached 6.84 billion packs.
- Cumulative sales
- 6.84 billion packs
- Brand
- Hetbahn
- First cited endorsement
- Actor Kim Hye-ja, late 1996
- Market drivers
- Growth in one- and two-person households and dual-income couples
What people are saying
Oh my goodness. It tastes like freshly cooked rice~