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BLACKPINK Member and soloist Jennie has been making appearances on talk shows to promote her latest album, Ruby. She recently appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show shortly after the album's release. On the talk show, the Love Hangover hitmaker discussed her album, her journey as a singer in the K-pop industry, her artist collaborations, and more.
In one of the segments released on YouTube on March 14, 2025, she introduced her favorite Korean snacks. There were a few packets of snack variety, and she picked Banana Kick by Nongshim. The effect of her snack recommendation was such that Nongshim's brand sales skyrocketed to 264 billion KRW within a short span, according to Sports Donga.
Trending
The product that the BLACKPINK idol picked, Banana Kick, became one of the most searched keywords on global social media. Usually referred to as a form of soccer shooting technique, the Mantra singer's mention turned the tides to the term being used for the snack. Fans took to X to express their surprise over the news. One user wrote:
"You will always be the trend"
Fans joked about making her the brand's ambassador after this popularity surge.
"Ok better make jennie the endorser now.haha," a fan wrote.
"#JENNIE out there selling out even banana chips!!!!!" another fan wrote.
"Common days for BLINKS.... Everything they touch goes to top," a user replied.
Fans also shared stories about how they knew of the snack but went to buy more packs after the K-pop idol mentioned it on the talk show. They also caught on to the catchphrase that Nonghsim used to flex the success post the show.
"I know ive tasted this banana kick before..i went to a korean grocery store earlier & found this then i rmmbr jennie obsessing ovr it. so i bought some," a user wrote.
"Jennie's impact. Snackin like jennie, flexin like banana kick," a fan wrote.
"Biggest Trendsetter for a reason," another fan commented.
Jennie's snack recommendation boosts Nonghsim brand's market cap
K-pop idol Jennie introduced the banana snack to Jennifer Hudson, saying:
"This is my favourite."
She added that it tasted like banana, but the banana flavor wouldn't be as the show host would expect it to taste. Hudson was also pleasantly surprised after trying the snack for the first time. The other two packs were seafood-based snacks named Shrimp Crackers and Georaebab.
According to Sports Donga's article dated March 20, 2025, the Nongshim brand was running in the red for four consecutive trading days. However, with The BLACKPINK member's mention of the brand's snacks, the sales began to rise, and Banana Kick became a hot keyword in search engines.
The brand's market capitalization went up to 264 billion KRW. The brand posted quirky cartoons of the singer's talk show appearance as a gesture of thanking the singer.
The singer's album Ruby has earned several accolades since its release, from ranking on global music charts to garnering millions of views. The singer will next perform at Coachella in April this year. She will also return with her group BLACKPINK for a concert tour from July 2025 to January 2026.
