Knorr Professional soy sauce sets innovation record for Unilever Food Solutions in China

CHINA – Unilever’s Knorr Professional soy sauce has gained a competitive edge in China’s €4.2 billion (US$4.9 billion) soy sauce market, setting a Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) performance record for innovation since its launch in March 2024.

In just over a year, the Knorr Professional soy sauce range has disrupted China’s soy sauce market, which has long been dominated by local heritage brands. 

Specifically designed for professional chefs, the range of dark, light, sweet, and seasoned soy sauces has addressed a long-standing gap in China’s foodservice sector. 

While numerous soy sauce varieties are widely available across the country, few, if any, were crafted exclusively for use in professional kitchens.

This premium-grade line delivers a richer umami and a more pronounced soy flavour, directly responding to the needs of 63% of Chinese chefs who expressed a desire for higher-quality soy sauce tailored to their culinary standards and cooking methods.

“Our chefs-for-chefs business approach provides unique insight into what our customers were looking for,” says Joyce Zhou, UFS North Asia Lead. She explains that chefs have consistently voiced the need for a premium soy sauce that can deliver the bold umami notes required to elevate signature dishes and enhance consumer appeal.

“This demand from chefs offered us an opportunity to disrupt the highly competitive soy sauce market with a product that answered the specific needs of professional kitchens.”

Spotlighting a missed market opportunity

The fact that 99% of soy sauce brands in China offer the same product for both domestic and professional use highlighted a valuable white space. 

UFS seized this opportunity with a differentiated proposition tailored to the realities of high-performance culinary environments.

Developed by Unilever’s global R&D teams in collaboration with chefs across China, Knorr Professional Seasoned Soy Sauce embodies a chef-led innovation model that has been instrumental to its rapid success.

By combining traditional and modern fermentation techniques with advanced food science, the team developed a new soy sauce with a distinctive flavour profile, preserving the authenticity of conventional taste while meeting the high stability and efficiency standards of professional kitchens.

“Thanks to our magical blend of yellow and black soybeans and perfect fermentation conditions, we created a soy sauce that enchants chefs with a richer aroma and double umami flavour missing from other products,” says Hanny van Amerongen, VP, R&D Global Innovation, Foods and UFS.

“Our new recipe allows us to produce large volumes without compromising quality or taste. This breakthrough is setting a new standard for professional soy sauce.”

According to Unilever, it has already become a record-setting product within its professional foodservice division, reflecting the growing appetite for chef-focused innovation in one of the world’s largest food markets.

The product also aligns with broader trends in China’s foodservice industry, including the push toward premiumisation, consistency, and culinary precision. 

With the success of this range, Unilever Food Solutions has demonstrated the power of targeted, insight-driven innovation to unlock growth even in mature and tradition-rich categories.

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