Baechu kimchi (Lotte Hotels & Resorts) Korean hotel kitchens are pushing their kimchi further overseas, one bound for California and the other to the duty-free aisles of Seoul's airports.Walkerhill Hotels & Resorts said it has exported its premium kimchi brand, Supex Kimchi, to the US for the first time. The shipment comprises about 1 metric ton of product across three varieties sold in 1-kilogram packages: baechu kimchi made with cabbage, pa kimchi made with scallions and gat kimchi made with mustard leaves. The kimchi arrives at the Port of Long Beach and reaches stores on July 31.Walkerhill had previously sent roughly 7 tons of its second-tier label, Walkerhill Hotel Kimchi, to the western US last September, expanded distribution nationwide in February and entered the Australian market in March. Cumulative overseas shipments reached 70 tons as of July. The company is now looking at Japan and other Asian markets.Their kimchi is made with powdered chili, sun-dried salt from Shinan, freshwater black shrimp and yukjeot, the premium grade of salted shrimp harvested in June. A house stock of sanghwang, shiitake, and maitake mushrooms, simmered with vegetables, replaced the beef brisket broth used previously, a change made in the second half of last year with export markets in mind."We improved the recipe to keep up with global food trends and shifts in the market while holding onto what makes Supex kimchi what it is," said Kim Jae-hak, Walkerhill's head kimchi chef.The packaging changed as well. Pouches tended to swell as fermentation gases built up, so the kimchi now ships in cans sealed with a seamer that vents gas while keeping outside air out.Lotte Hotels & Resorts is taking a different route to foreign customers: its Lotte Hotel Kimchi is now available at Lotte Duty Free at Gimpo Airport. A second counter opens in August at Lotte Duty Free in Terminal 2 of Incheon Airport. The rollout follows the brand's first overseas pop-up, held in Tokyo earlier this month.The duty-free lineup includes seven products chosen for travelers carrying them home. There are two mini bundles of baechu kimchi and stir-fried kimchi, each with 10 80-gram packs; four 650 g tubs of baechu kimchi, baek kimchi, yeolmu kimchi and kkakdugi; and a 1.2 kilogram pouch of baechu kimchi.Lotte Hotel Kimchi is based on recipes from Mugunghwa, the Korean restaurant that has operated at Lotte Hotel Seoul for over 40 years. It uses local cabbage and chili, and a stock of dried pollack, shrimp, shiitake and kelp, rounded out with high-grade salted shrimp."After the Tokyo pop-up, moving into duty-free channels at domestic airports is another step in widening our contact with global customers. We will keep working to spread the value of premium kimchi worldwide on the strength of Lotte Hotel's culinary expertise," an official at Lotte Hotels & Resorts said.