May 29, 2025
(From left) DINZ Trade Strategy Manager Damon Paling; JongKyu Jang (second left), DINZ’s in-market representative in South Korea; DINZ CEO Rhys Griffiths; and Felix Shen (far right), DINZ’s in-market representative in China, with representatives from Yuhan.
I've just wrapped up a busy few days in Seoul, meeting with both long-standing industry partners and some exciting new players in the Korean health and wellness space. Here are a few key takeaways that I thought were worth sharing with our deer farming community back home:
LG Household & Health Care
LG H&H continues to push into the China market through cross-border e-commerce, led by their Vital Garden and Re:Tune brands. Deer velvet is positioned as the hero ingredient across a range of products. They're highlighting benefits that include anti-fatigue, immune support, and anti-inflammatory properties, and are keen to position velvet as more potent than plant-based options like red ginseng.
They're promoting easy-to-consume pouch and ampoule formats, and while they do have a kids’ line, the focus is squarely on adult wellness for now. Importantly, they’ve chosen New Zealand velvet over Russian for our reputation in quality, traceability, and trust—a decision that speaks volumes about the value of our on-farm standards.
Hanpure, KGC and Yuhan Care
It was great to reconnect with loyal partners like Hanpure, who have just completed a factory expansion and are already planning their next phase of growth. They value the New Zealand–China–Korea triangle as a strategic supply chain and see continued opportunity to lift value at every step—from farm to finished product.
Despite market headwinds, KGC (Korea Ginseng Corporation) remains committed to New Zealand deer velvet. Their flagship Cheon Nok product proudly promotes the use of New Zealand Super A Traditional (SAT) grade antler. They’re looking to sharpen the positioning of velvet in consumers’ minds and still play a strong role distributing Comvita in Korea.
Yuhan Care continues to push its New Origin range, blending whole New Zealand deer velvet with red ginseng—another good example of how our product is used to enhance wider functional food lines.
New players driving innovation
I also met with a high-growth health tech company that supplies doctors directly through a B2B online platform with over 20,000 members. They’ve just raised Series C capital and are already selling velvet balls, with plans to introduce sliced velvet. Once again, New Zealand velvet was their pick over Russian due to our consistency and reliability.
Kwangdong Pharmaceutical, a major player in Korea’s medical-grade product space, is using New Zealand deer antler in its new soft gel product for prostate health, backed by patents and peer-reviewed science. They see further opportunity in areas like anti-fatigue and child growth, which may present new product formats in time. They also specifically called out MPI’s RCS system and NAIT as meaningful points of difference that make New Zealand velvet stand out in regulatory and clinical settings.
Final word
Several Korean partners are planning their next round of visits to New Zealand in the coming months to strengthen their understanding of our farming systems and to create new content for social media and digital marketing.
While market conditions remain challenging, New Zealand velvet continues to be trusted, respected, and in demand—particularly where quality and provenance are non-negotiable. There’s growing interest in tailored formats, better storytelling, and deeper partnerships. Our challenge is to keep delivering a consistent, premium product that Korean consumers—and increasingly, Chinese consumers via Korean brands—can count on.
Throughout our visit, we enjoyed great support from NZTE and MFAT in Seoul, which was much appreciated.
Thanks again for your commitment on-farm. The value chain is strong, and with continued investment and alignment, the future looks promising.
— Rhys Griffiths, Deer Industry New Zealand CEO
