Next 'Export Multibaggers' Could Come From... 

Korean ramen exports touched US$ 1 billion in 2024, with notable increases in markets like the US, China and India.

The Korean wave of K-pop, K-cosmetics, and K-dramas (web series) has significantly boosted the global appeal of Korean food, music and culture.

From skincare to street food, several products in India now have a Korean twist.

But this did not happen overnight.

Few remember that the South Korean economy had its tryst with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) just after India.

In 1997, the South Korean won experienced a significant collapse due to the Asian Financial Crisis, losing approximately half its value against the US dollar.

This devaluation was triggered by a broader regional crisis and internal structural weaknesses within the Korean financial and corporate sectors.

Stocks nosedived, and jobs vanished. To recover, South Korea borrowed US$ 58 billion bailout package from the IMF.

What led to the economic collapse?

Thanks to the Asian Financial Crisis, the Korean economy overly dependent on heavy industries cars, steel, electronics crashed when global demand shifted.

So, after the bailout, they changed their strategy completely.

In 1998, South Korea set up a Ministry of Culture and began investing heavily in entertainment, media, and education around pop culture. They created structures to nurture K-pop, K-dramas, and film production. Universities began teaching cultural marketing.

And the result?

In 2012, Gangnam Style became the first YouTube video ever to cross 1 bn views, putting Korean pop culture firmly on the global map. Netflix poured over US$ 500 m into Korean webseries like Squid Game, which became its most-watched show ever.

By 2018, K-pop group BTS alone contributed around a significant amount annually to Korea's GDP, boosting tourism, merchandise sales, and media exports.

Korean food exports have already crossed US$ 10 bn in 2023, turning kimchi, ramen, and gochujang into global pantry staples.

Korean cosmetics exports are expected to cross US$ 10 bn soon, outpacing even legacy beauty brands.

The point here is that India's cultural soft power that is being reinforced through events like the International Yoga Day can go a long way in boosting exports of Indian food, music, media, skincare and other consumables.

India's digital entertainment sector is already one of the largest and fastest growing, fuelled by increased internet access (562 m active smartphones and over 30 m connected TVs), affordable data and over 900 m broadband connections.

Global players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Hotstar are investing in Indian original OTT content, many of which have gained international acclaim

Development centres set up by Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and others are leveraging India's massive mobile-first user base to design apps and features that integrate payments, utilities and emerging tech. Netflix, for instance, piloted its mobile-only plan in India before rolling it out globally.

India's media and entertainment sector employs approximately 2.8 m people. The content numbers are also staggering: 1,600 films, 2,600 hours of premium OTT content, 190,000 of television content, 20,000 original songs.

India also has an estimated 400,000 digital creators with an online following of over 10,000 each.

India's rich linguistic and cultural diversity gives it an edge in content creation for local and global audiences.

With 1.4 billion people and, 22 official languages, India offers diverse stories and regional narratives, driving a thriving content ecosystem. With a widespread Indian diaspora, the content is exported to over 100 countries each year, both through theatrical releases as well as on global OTT platforms like Disney, Netflix and Prime Video

India's gaming industry has evolved from a niche domain to a widely embraced phenomenon, significantly influencing the digital economy and attracting global attention.

With the widespread adoption of smartphones and the availability of affordable mobile internet, this revolution has transformed the digital entertainment landscape.

As per EY-FICCI report, in 2024, India represented around 20% of the global gaming user base and 15% of all gaming app downloads, surpassing the combined totals of the US and Brazil, the next two largest markets

In 2024, there were 488 m online gamers in India, predominantly using the mobile phone as their device of choice.

In addition, India has over 1,900 game development companies that employ around 66,000 professionals.

The country is building and operating games for some of the largest global game developers. Additionally, many Indian developers have launched their own games for the domestic as well as international markets.

India is a global hub for media and entertainment production, offering cost effective and scalable infrastructure that attracts major international studios.

Indian studios have contributed to global blockbusters like Avengers, The Jungle Book, Life of Pi, Frozen, The Lion King, Madagascar, with high-end VFX capabilities. Animation and VFX costs are nearly 50% lower in India than in the West. Also, India has built a large, skilled workforce of creators to support global production workflows.

So as an investor, how can you leverage this trend of potential rise in global consumption of Indian food, music, culture and content?

The most obvious beneficiary of India's cultural marketing could be the domestic tourism sector. Stocks belonging to the hospitality and tourism sectors like Indian Hotels, Rategain Travel Technologies and Le Travenues Technology could benefit from the tailwinds.

Secondly, the export of Indian packaged food was earlier limited to the unorganised sector.

Companies like ADF Foods and Mrs. Bectors Food Specialities now specialize in the production and export of a variety of traditional Indian food products, including pickles, sauces, ready-to-eat meals, frozen, and canned foods. The companies' market spans Europe, the US, Australia and the Gulf.

India is also a major exporter of Basmati rice. Companies like LT Foods and GRM Overseas are key players in this segment.

PVR Inox, Tips Industries, Saregama etc are the major music and content creation companies that benefit from rising popularity of Indian music and digital content overseas.

Prime Focus is a leading company providing post-production and visual effects (VFX) services to the film, advertising, and broadcast industries globally.

In the gaming segment, Nazara Technologies is a diversified gaming and sports media platform company, involved in e-sports, interactive gaming, and gamified early learning

While the long-term tailwinds for these companies are here to stay, investors must keep only those stocks in watchlist that have a track record of leveraging tailwinds with healthy financial performance.

Use the Equitymaster Screener to know the financial quality of leading media and food stocks.