The new product from Nongshim, which has carried the tradition of 46 years forward, caught consumers’ attention immediately after a video featuring “BananaK” appeared on Instagram and YouTube. The footage was discovered by Marketing Team Leader Oh Yong‑ju (26), who worked at Nongshim’s headquarters in Sin-dae-bang-dong. Mid‑May, he searched the company’s SNS account for products such as BananaK, BangbuJang, and YangPaRing, and found a video that promoted BananaK.
The clip shows a 12‑month‑old baby trying to eat fresh BananaK; when his mother offers it, the child gleefully takes the product and carries it away. Once the video was published, its views immediately surged past ten million.
Seeing this, Leader Oh decided that BananaK could spread its charm without paid advertising. He said, “I wanted to give the baby something memorable.” He announced plans to produce a larger version of the BananaK box so that children could use it directly. As a result, Nongshim released a new packaging called “BananaK Baby” with a baby’s face on the label instead of the usual BananaK logo. The design was intended for direct use by kids and the product reached delivery within a month.
During the delivery process, Leader Oh and Nongshim staff handled everything online and through photo shooting only; they did not offer any advertising or promotional incentives. Still, BananaK’s brand recognition grew rapidly. When the video posted on Instagram, its views surpassed 26.7 million, and searches for BananaK increased up to 325% compared with normal levels. Nongshim staff said, “I don’t know exactly how much sales will increase, but it is clear that consumer‑created content can link into brand marketing.” They referenced the small model of UGC.
This incident demonstrated that Nongshim products such as BananaK could spread naturally on SNS, and that user‑generated content could elevate brand recognition more than company‑made ads. Leader Oh joked that his colleagues sometimes call him “Dong-nyeong” (a play on words) and highlighted how this event reestablished Nongshim’s marketing strategy.