In 2021 Squid Game series became a massive hit, reaching more than 16 billion hours of views just 28 days after its release. Now, with the highly anticipated release of its second season, many food brands embraced the show's success by introducing a variety of collaboration products.

On January 12^th many K-food brands that make ramen, soju, dumplings etc. released collaboration items with Squid Game 2. These collaborations aimed to promote the series globally and increase sales of products.

Bibigo x Squid Game

Image courtesy of Bibigo

CJ’s Bibigo partnered with Squid Game and is currently running global campaign in 14 countries including South Korea, the United States, Australia, Japan and many European countries. This collaboration between K-food and K-series offers K-culture fans a truly unique experience.

Bibigo X Squid Game Season 2 Collaboration offers products such as dumplings, kimchi, seaweed snacks etc. These products were released with limited-edition packaging featuring characters from 'Squid Game'.

Bibigo started selling Frozen Tteokbokki, Cup Tteokbokki, King dumplings and Shrimp dumplings in Korea on 19^th January. Through this campaign, kimbap was also introduced to the U.S. and European markets for the first time. Bibigo ‘Bulgogi Kimbap’ is a product that captures the authentic taste of Korean bulgogi.New products such as 'Bibigo Whole Squid Dumplings' and 'Butter Squid Seaweed Snacks' have been released In Korea as well.

Bibigo ‘Whole Squid Dumplings’ include squid cut into whole pieces inside the dumplings. Bibigo Butter Squid Seaweed Snacks are crispy seaweed snacks flavored with the sweet, savory, and rich taste of buttered squid.

'Bibigo Radish Kimchi with Dried Squid' was also launched in Thailand. It is a product that features the chewy and crunchy texture of radish kimchi mixed with dried squid, known for its unique texture.

HiteJinro x Squid Game

Image courtesy of HiteJinro

HiteJinro, one of the Koreans most beloved soju brand, released the Chamisul Squid Game Edition. Chamisul is one of the most popular types of soju and The 'Chamisul Squid Game Edition' label features characters from 'Squid Game' like Young-hee, Pink Guard, and Front Man.

The circle (○), triangle (△), and square (□) symbols in the Chamisul logo are in pink color symbolizing the Pink guard ranks through circle, triangle and square shape on their mask.

In addition to the products, there are also four 'Squid Game' character-themed merchandise items released.

Image courtesy of HiteJinro

The merchandise items include the Young-hee drinking game, Pink Guard frog figurine, colored soju glasses, and aprons. In Korea, drinking games have always been popular, and the Young-hee drinking game is inspired by the famous ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game. The Young-hee figurine’s head spins around, and when it stops, the person it’s facing must take a shot.

The Pink Guard frog figurines are made in three shapes circle, triangle, and square corresponding to the guards’ ranks in the game. The aprons are designed based on the Squid Game participant uniforms, creating an experience that makes us feel like we are truly part of the game.

Ottogi x Squid Game

Image courtesy of Ottogi

Brand Ottogi, through its collaboration with Squid Game Season 2 released two new products : ‘Bbusyeo Bbusyeo Butter Grilled Squid’ and ‘Bbusyeo Bbusyeo Spicy Hot’ flavor.

The 'Bbusyeo Bbusyeo' product, first launched in 1999, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This very famous Korean snack is also called ramen snack, and it comes in package that looks like instant noodles package. Unlike instant noodles, this snack is not supposed to be cooked and it also comes with package of seasoning you can pour on top.

The new 'Bbusyeo Bbusyeo' snacks pair perfectly with beer or any other drink, making them ideal snack to enjoy while watching movies or series. Ottogi aims to increase sale of its snacks by engaging with popular OTT content like Squid Game.

The Butter Grilled Squid flavor is a popular movie theater snack, offering a delicious mix of sweet and savory flavors from squid grilled in butter. On the other hand, Bbusyeo Bbusyeo Spicy Hot, offers a fiery bold spiciness. Both flavors include powdered rice, making these snacks crispier and healthier.

Haitai X Squid Game

Image courtesy of Haitai

Haitai Confectionery also partnered with Netflix to create a 'Squid Game' version of the iconic Dalgona candy as a snack.

In April, Haitai released ‘Squid Game Grilled Potato Slim Chips’, which resemble Dalgona candy. However, unlike traditional Dalgona, which is made from sugar and is very sweet, this snack has a completely savory flavor. The thinly grilled potato chips have circle, triangle and square shapes carved into it, replicating the shapes from Dalgona game.

Each bag contains a variety of potato chips with different shapes, adding excitement as consumers pick out a new shape each time, creating experience like you are participating in the game.

All of the brands saw positive market response after release of collaboration products. ‘Squid Game' season 2 gained massive popularity worldwide, related sales surged significantly, prompting food companies to rapidly launch related products and promote them through collaborations.