Sempio

Sempio is a South Korean food company and consumer brand established on August 20, 1946. Its origins lie in making and supplying jang, Korea’s traditional fermented sauces and seasonings, at a time when food was scarce and dependable ingredients were difficult to obtain. The company’s official history presents its founding principle as “not making or selling anything that my family cannot eat,” and describes its early purpose as offering clean, good-quality jang at accessible prices. Sempio’s brand identity has remained closely associated with fermentation, Korean food culture, and familiar flavors for everyday cooking. The company’s range extends beyond its historic soy sauce and jang products. Its current brand portfolio and website feature Yeondu, a plant-based cooking essence made from fermented soybeans; T'Asia, an Asian-food brand featuring regional flavors; and Saeminae Kitchen, a cooking brand and platform intended to make preparing food easier and more enjoyable. The company also presents an online official store and the Saeminae Market. Its offerings span traditional fermented products, cooking aids, and food products associated with home cooking and Asian cuisine. Sempio describes its broader ambition as sharing the value of Korean flavors and food culture internationally. It says Yeondu has expanded beyond Spain to the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, and subsequently to European markets including the Netherlands, Germany, and France. In New York, the company opened a Yeondu Culinary Studio in 2018 as a venue for cooking activities, recipe development, and sharing Korean flavors. Its official site also describes research into Korean flavors and fermentation, including a dedicated fermentation research center established in 2013. The company’s history page records its foundation in 1946 and registration of the Sempio trademark in 1954. Later developments highlighted in its official story include restoration of traditional Korean soy sauce in 2001, the launch of Yeondu in 2010, the start of a Korean-flavor research project in 2016, and the launch of Saeminae Kitchen in 2021. Sempio remains an active brand focused on fermentation, cooking, and introducing Korean flavors to wider audiences. The available evidence does not confirm its current ownership, headquarters, founder names, or listing status.

Sempio’s official history dates the company’s beginning to August 20, 1946, in the difficult conditions following Korea’s liberation. Its account emphasizes the scarcity of food and the importance of jang—traditional fermented sauces and seasonings—as a basic part of the meal. The company says it began by supplying clean, good-quality jang at affordable prices, guided by the founder’s principle that it would not make or sell anything the founder’s family could not eat. This origin story frames Sempio as a company built around reliable everyday food and the preservation of Korean fermented flavors. The brand’s development became more formal with trademark registration on May 11, 1954. Sempio describes this as an important step in becoming recognizable to consumers and building confidence in its products. In 1958, a large Sempio soy-sauce neon sign was installed at the company’s Chungmuro factory; the official history recalls that it became a notable sight in Seoul. In 1959, Sempio completed a factory and research facilities in Changdong. The company presents the establishment of its research base and quality-control practices as a significant development, and as an antecedent of its later fermentation research center. Its history also recalls early exports of Sempio soy sauce, although the supplied account does not specify a date for that event. The company’s later story includes work to restore traditional Korean soy sauce. In 2001, it introduced Malgeun Joseon Ganjang, described by Sempio as a traditional-style Korean soy sauce made only with soybeans, salt, and water. In 2010, it launched Yeondu, a cooking essence that reinterprets the depth of soybean fermentation in a contemporary form. Sempio describes Yeondu as a plant-based product made from fermented soybeans and as a way to bring Korean flavor to international tables. Sempio says it opened the Woori Fermentation Research Center in 2013 as a specialist fermentation research institution. Its official story states that the company invests 4–5% of its profits each year in securing future growth technologies. In 2016, it began a Korean-flavor research project using a culinary research method intended to find ways to make Korean cooking easier, tastier, and healthier. In 2018, it opened the Yeondu Culinary Studio in New York for cooking activities, recipe development, and sharing Korean flavors. The company launched Saeminae Kitchen in 2021, presenting it as a brand that makes cooking easier, more enjoyable, and more delicious. In 2022, it launched a related cooking-community platform with recipes and content intended to help beginners solve cooking challenges. In 2023, Sempio described children’s cooking programs designed to encourage enjoyment, confidence, and healthy growth. Its 2016 corporate identity also drew on imagery of traditional Korean house eaves and a human face, linking the brand’s visual identity to Korean food heritage and its stated people-centered philosophy. Across these developments, Sempio’s official account describes a continuing effort to connect fermentation research and traditional Korean flavors with contemporary products, cooking education, and international audiences.

• 2023

  Children’s cooking programs highlighted

• 2022

  Saeminae Kitchen cooking platform launched

• 2021

  Saeminae Kitchen brand launched

• 2018

  Yeondu Culinary Studio opened in New York

• 2016

  Korean-flavor research project began; corporate identity renewed

• 2013

  Woori Fermentation Research Center established

• 2010

  Yeondu launched

• 2001

  Malgeun Joseon Ganjang introduced

• 1959

  Changdong factory and research facilities completed

• 1958

  Sempio soy-sauce neon sign installed

• 1954

  Sempio trademark registered

• 1946

  Sempio founded

A fermentation-led Korean food company seeking to preserve and develop Korean flavors and make them enjoyable and accessible to people around the world.

• Sempio soy sauce and jang

  Traditional fermented products at the center of the company’s history and brand identity.

• Yeondu

  A plant-based cooking essence made from fermented soybeans and designed to bring out the taste of ingredients.

• T'Asia

  An Asian-food brand featuring regional flavors and ingredients.

• Saeminae Kitchen

  A cooking brand and platform offering solutions, recipes, and content intended to make cooking easier and more enjoyable.

• 2016

  Invest in Korean-flavor researchOther

• Invest in future fermentation and growth technologyOther

1. 1샘표식품 : 우리맛으로 세계인을 즐겁게sempio.com
2. 2샘표 80년 : 샘표식품sempio.com
3. 3샘표 CI : 샘표식품sempio.com
4. 4샘표 : 샘표식품sempio.com