01
Global Sourcing
Europe first, then Japan and Southeast Asia. Chilled cheese and shelf-stable jars, stocks and seasonings demand entirely different handling. We run both.
Food Import & Distribution
highflyTrade carries overseas food to the Korean shelf: online marketplaces, TV home shopping, offline retail. Import filing, Korean labelling, customs and channel onboarding, all in one place.
About
highflyTrade brings food into Korea that the market has not seen before. The search began in Europe, among small producers and cheesemakers with no route east. Today the range extends to seasonings, spreads, stocks and confectionery.
With food, the work begins where the contract ends. An ingredient list is measured against Korean standards. A declaration is filed. Inspection is answered. Korean labelling is applied, and every channel asks for its own set of documents. We carry that weight so a brand never has to learn it twice.
Short stock, late clearance: you hear it from us before you ask. Passing on only good news is easier today. It is also why there is no second order.
When something goes wrong we change the method, not the terms. A brand has to be able to hang a production plan on our dates.
We want to be the first name that comes to mind when someone is looking for food Korea does not have yet. Measure us by how many brands come back, not by how big we grow.
Founder's Note
I started this company because the products I wanted were not here. Not unavailable. They simply had no way in.
So I went looking. Small European producers. Cheesemakers whose work stopped at their own border. Good food with no route east.
What I offer a brand is narrow, and I keep it: an honest answer when you ask, and the date I gave you. That is what brings the next container.
Choi Eun-jin Founder, highflyTrade
Why Us
Europe first, then Japan and Southeast Asia. Chilled cheese and shelf-stable jars, stocks and seasonings demand entirely different handling. We run both.
In Korea, one wrong line on a document stops a container. Ingredient and additive checks, import declaration, inspection response, Korean labelling. Every one of them passes through our own hands.
Online marketplaces, TV home shopping, hypermarkets, premium grocery. Each asks for different paperwork on different terms. We begin by deciding where a product belongs.
We have brought in European brands and cheeses Korea had never seen. The work is opening a route where none exists. Reselling what is already on the shelf is a different business.
Services
From first brand to repeat order. Take one step from us, or the whole of it.
We look for brands with room to grow here, and settle category, price band and certification before either side commits.
Purchase orders, shipping, declaration, clearance, inspection. The whole cycle.
Once the goods land: storage, dispatch, and the delivery terms each channel sets.
Korean labelling, filing and certification requirements, and the first channels to enter.
Detail pages, photography, channel promotions. The assets that do the selling.
Sales data sets the SKU mix and the reorder rhythm. As a brand settles, the range widens.
Process
Timing depends on the product, its origin and what is in it. We give a real schedule once we have the item in front of us.
Samples and specification sheets arrive. We read the product type, the cost structure, and what it will be up against here.
Ingredients and additives go against Korean standards. Anything that will not pass should surface here, not at the port.
We confirm the overseas manufacturer registration is in place and file the import declaration.
We handle whichever inspection is assigned, document, on-site or laboratory, through to clearance.
Ingredients, net weight, use-by date, storage method, allergens, importer. The Korean label goes on, and stock is held to the product's own conditions.
Onboarding documents go in and selling starts. How fast the product moves sets the reorder cycle.
Korean Compliance
Nothing reaches a Korean shelf without clearing the list below. This is what we carry on a brand's behalf.
Registration under the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control. This is the base licence an importer must hold.
The producing facility abroad must be registered in advance; without it, a declaration cannot be filed.
Each shipment is declared to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Depending on the inspection assigned, we submit documents, attend on-site checks, or provide laboratory samples.
Product name, food type, ingredients, net weight, use-by date, storage method, allergens, importer and country of origin, all in Korean.
Checking the Korean Food Code standards and permitted additives for that specific food type.
The above is a general outline of the procedure, not legal advice. Requirements change with product type, origin and ingredients, so each item is confirmed individually.
Brands & Products
Products we have carried into the Korean market.
Product images are shown only where the brand owner or supplier has permitted their use.
Channels
Korea's online marketplaces, home shopping networks, hypermarkets and premium grocery halls.
Online marketplaces · Home shopping · Hypermarkets · Premium grocery · Dawn delivery
Contact
Send a brand deck or a catalogue. You will hear back within two business days, in Korean or English.
Scan with a phone to
open a WhatsApp chat
