Sun Hee Kimchi Review — Is It Good? Taste, Ingredients & Price (2026)
This Sun Hee kimchi review breaks down the taste, real ingredients, an honest look at a formulation discrepancy we found, and why it’s the cheapest widely-stocked kimchi brand in UK supermarkets.
Sun Hee Kimchi Review — Quick Verdict
This Sun Hee kimchi review comes down to one clear strength: price. At roughly £2.20-£2.50 for a 170-300g pack, Sun Hee is the cheapest widely-stocked kimchi brand in UK supermarkets by a meaningful margin — less than half what Vadasz, Biona, or The Cultured Collective typically cost. It’s made by Surya Foods, a UK world-foods company, using a simple, fish-sauce-free ingredient list of fermented cabbage, radish, garlic, and ginger. We could not locate a public aggregate customer rating for this specific product, so this Sun Hee kimchi review is a value- and ingredient-led verdict rather than a crowd-rated one.
Who Makes Sun Hee Kimchi?
Not a Korean import or a small artisan producer — a UK world-foods company with an established supermarket supply track record.
Sun Hee is made by Surya Foods, a UK world-foods producer based in Harwich, Essex. Rather than launching kimchi as a standalone product, Surya Foods introduced Sun Hee as a full Korean ingredients range, giving UK shoppers access to Korean BBQ sauce, gochujang (Korean chilli paste), doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and kimchi together under one brand.
That’s worth noting as the brand’s own positioning rather than an independently verified claim — “authentic” and “traditional” are marketing language, and our own ingredient-list review below finds a genuinely simpler recipe than some competitors, without gochugaru specifically named or fish sauce included.
Real Ingredients — And a Discrepancy Worth Flagging
We found two different ingredient panels for this product across retailer listings, and we think it’s worth showing both rather than picking one.
| Earlier Listing | “New Improved Recipe” Listing |
|---|---|
| Chinese Cabbage (83%) | Chinese Cabbage (58%) |
| Water | Water |
| Radish | Carrots, Green Radish |
| Salt, Sugar | Salt, Sugar |
| Garlic, Ginger | Onion, Spring Onion, Garlic, Ginger |
| Red Chilli Pepper Powder | Red Chilli Pepper Powder |
| Maize Syrup, Rice Flour | Maize Syrup |
Taste & Practical Use
Sun Hee’s own product description sets modest, practical expectations rather than an elaborate flavour promise.
The retailer product description consistently describes it simply as fermented cabbage infused with radish, garlic, and ginger, suitable for stir-frying with noodles and rice or eating on its own — a straightforward, everyday-use framing rather than a premium artisan positioning. Notably, it’s specifically recommended by Sainsbury’s own magazine as a gochujang-style ingredient in at least one published recipe (a kimchi and ginger beef stew, where Sun Hee was used for the gochujang paste component rather than the kimchi itself, with Vadasz used as the kimchi) — a small but real signal that Sun Hee’s range is genuinely used in retailer-endorsed cooking content, not just sold as a standalone jar.
The Wider Sun Hee Korean Range
Kimchi is one part of a broader Korean pantry range from the same brand.
Alongside the kimchi, Sun Hee also sells Korean BBQ sauce, gochujang (Korean chilli paste), and doenjang (fermented soybean paste) — all launched together into Tesco in September 2024, giving UK home cooks access to a fuller set of Korean pantry staples under one recognisable brand rather than having to piece together individual imports. A Sun Hee Kimchi Sauce (300g) also appears to exist as a separate product from the jarred kimchi itself, based on specialist British-food export retailer listings.
Price & Value vs. Other UK Brands
This is where Sun Hee genuinely stands apart from every other brand in our UK guide.
| Brand | Typical Price | Pack Size |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Hee | ~£2.20-£2.50 | 170-300g |
| The Cultured Collective | ~£4.75 | 250g |
| Biona Organic | ~£4.99-5.20 | 220-350g |
| Vadasz | ~£4.95 | 400g |
Even at the smaller end of its pack-size range, Sun Hee is roughly half the price of every other UK kimchi brand we’ve reviewed. If budget is your main concern — trying kimchi for the first time without committing to a pricier jar, or cooking with it regularly where cost adds up — Sun Hee is the clearest value pick in UK supermarkets.
Where to Buy & Storage
| Retailer | Confirmed? |
|---|---|
| Tesco | ✓ Original launch retailer (Sept 2024) |
| Sainsbury’s | ✓ Confirmed |
| Morrisons | ✓ Confirmed |
Storage guidance: keep in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight before opening. Once opened, refrigerate and consume within 1 week — meaningfully shorter than several other UK kimchi brands, which typically allow 2 weeks to 1 month. Factor that shorter window into how much you buy at once. See our full where to buy kimchi in the UK guide for how this compares across every retailer we’ve checked.
Related Guides
Sun Hee Kimchi Review — FAQ
For the price, yes — Sun Hee is the cheapest widely-stocked kimchi brand in UK supermarkets, at roughly £2.20-£2.50 for 170-300g, versus £4.75-4.99+ for most other UK brands. It uses a simple, traditional-leaning ingredient list without fish sauce. We could not locate a public aggregate customer rating for this specific product, so treat this as a value-led verdict.
Sun Hee is made by Surya Foods, a UK world-foods company based in Harwich, Essex. The brand launched a wider Korean range — including BBQ sauce, gochujang, doenjang, and kimchi — into Tesco in September 2024.
Two slightly different panels have appeared across listings. An earlier version: Chinese Cabbage (83%), Water, Radish, Salt, Sugar, Garlic, Ginger, Red Chilli Pepper Powder, Maize Syrup, Rice Flour. A “New Improved Recipe” version: Chinese Cabbage (58%), Water, Carrots, Green Radish, Salt, Sugar, Onion, Spring Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Red Chilli Pepper Powder, Maize Syrup. Neither lists fish sauce.
Neither published ingredient list contains fish sauce, shrimp paste, or any animal-derived ingredient. Current listings do carry a “May contain Fish, Crustaceans, Soya” allergen warning — a cross-contact precaution, not a stated ingredient. Check the current label if you have a serious allergy.
Sun Hee Kimchi is sold at Tesco (its original launch retailer), Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons.
Around £2.20-£2.50 for a 170-300g pack, per its Tesco launch RSP — significantly cheaper than every other UK kimchi brand we’ve reviewed.
Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight before opening. Once opened, refrigerate and consume within 1 week — shorter than several other UK kimchi brands.
Yes — Sun Hee is a full Korean ingredients range from Surya Foods, also including Korean BBQ sauce, gochujang, and doenjang, alongside the kimchi itself.
It’s meaningfully cheaper than every other brand in our UK guide — Vadasz runs about £4.95 for 400g, Biona about £4.99-5.20, and The Cultured Collective about £4.75 for 250g, all well above Sun Hee’s £2.20-£2.50. If budget is your main concern, Sun Hee is the clear pick.
