CJ Group aims to raise North American sales to 12 trillion won ($8.7 billion) by 2028 from about 8 trillion won last year, betting that demand for Korean culture can extend from entertainment into everyday consumer spending on food and beauty under a unified "K-lifestyle" strategy. Huh Min-hoi, CEO of CJ, outlined the plan in Los Angeles on the 16th, saying the group will use affiliates including CJ CheilJedang, Olive Young, CJ Foodville and CJ ENM to deepen local production, retail distribution and experiential marketing after cumulative regional investment reached 9.7 trillion won and local headcount climbed to about 12,000 by the end of the first half of this year. The company said North American sales rose from about 800 billion won in 2017 to roughly 4 trillion won after the 2019 acquisition of U.S. frozen-pizza maker Schwan's, with an average annual growth rate of about 33% through last year, and it now plans more U.S. manufacturing, online expansion through TikTok Shop and Walmart stores, and broader offline and business-to-business growth for Olive Young through partners such as Sephora.