SPC Group Steps Up Its ESG Management Practice… This Time to Help out Punggi Ginseng Farmers

SPC Group Steps Up Its ESG Management Practice… This Time to Help out Punggi Ginseng Farmers

– As part of ‘ESG Happiness Win-Win Project’… Signs Agreement with Yeongju City

– To support farmers facing triple difficulties due to Covid-19 including ginseng festival cancellation, heat wave, and price plunge

– The group to launch pastries, salads, ready-to-eat meals based on Punggi ginseng

– Promotion to be undertaken through 6,000 Paris Baguette stores and others

 

 

As part of practicing ESG management principles, SPC Group said on August 19 that it has signed a ‘win-win agreement for revitalizing Punggi ginseng consumption’ with the Punggi Ginseng Agricultural Cooperative and Yeongju City, North Gyeongsang Province.

 

The latest agreement was signed as part of the ‘ESG Happiness Win-Win Project,’ by which farm goods from local farmers who are facing difficulties are purchased and processed products are developed and marketed based on them. This is the fifth instance in which SPC undertakes a win-win project for local farmers after the potatoes (Pyeongchang), carrots (Gujwa, Jeju), strawberries (Nonsan), and onions (Muan). The win-win project has now become one of the best examples of spreading good influence through mass-purchase schemes. Recently, a local agricultural cooperative participated in the group’s campaign to buy up Muan onions in volume.

 

The project in Punggi was designed to help farmers who are experiencing severe difficulties, including the cancellation of the ginseng festival, an event to secure a major outlet for ginseng farmers in previous years, due to COVID-19, crop failures due to the heat wave, not to mention the plunging prices of ginseng products (mainly raw materials for processing).

 

SPC Group plans to launch ‘Honey Ginseng Cake,’ ‘Honey Ginseng Walnut Pie,’ and ‘Whole Red Bean Manju’ as special Chuseok gift items at its Paris Baguette stores nationwide using red ginseng processed from Punggi’s raw ginseng.

 

In addition, SPC Samlip is developing items containing Punggi ginseng in the form of ready-to-eat meals such as salads and porridge, and will introduce Punggi ginseng-based products at Baskin Robbins and Dunkin stores.

 

The group’s brands such as Paris Baguette, Baskin Robbins, and Dunkin will also undertake the promotion of Punggi ginseng through their 6,000-plus locations nationwide, thereby enhancing the interest of consumers and consumption of ginseng products.

 

Punggi, Korea’s first ginseng cultivation area, has a favorable environment for growing ginseng, such as the organic matter-rich sand and mud and climate of the foot of Mt. Sobaek, and is known to produce hard-from-the-core ginseng for a long time.

 

An SPC Group official said, “The Happy Win-Win Project is part of our ESG management practice that takes advantage of homegrown produce to make high-quality food items, and consumers take part in value consumption in ways to promote win-win growth together with local farmers. We will continue the project to help farmers expand markets and revitalize farm produce consumption.”

 

Since 2012, SPC Group has launched several agricultural goods by signing agreements with local farmers such as the mini apples (Yeongcheon), paprika (Gangjin), and strawberries (Jinju). It has steadily worked with farmers for win-win growth by signing agreements with, among others, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in January 2014 to purchase domestic produce worth 1 trillion won ($859 million).