Saengong CEO Kim Ji-seon, left, poses with Shin Line Group Chairman Andrey Shin, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, after signing a memorandum of agreement to supply Saengong's products to the Kazakhstani company. Courtesy of Saengong

Saengong, a Korean household products brand, has signed a supply deal with a major ice cream maker and distributor in Kazakhstan to expand its presence in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, the Korean company said Tuesday.

Saengong CEO Kim Ji-seon met Shin Line Group Chairman Andrey Shin in the country's capital, Almaty, Thursday and signed a memorandum of agreement for the $2.3 million three-year deal.

With the deal, Saengong has paved the way to expanding its market to the region.

Shin Line will exclusively distribute the Korean firm's products — from everyday household products to beauty and cosmetics, beverages and snacks — to Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Shin Line Group is the biggest ice cream firm in Kazakhstan and fifth-largest in the CIS region. It registered $230 million in sales last year.

It also manufactures dairy products, dough, pastries and instant noodles and exports them to Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and China.

Last year, Shin Line signed a deal with BGF Retail, which operates CU, one of the biggest convenience store chains in Korea, to distribute CU's products to Kazakhstan.

Under its latest deal with Saengong, the group has agreed to distribute Saengong's products through new CU stores to be launched across the CIS region.

Saengong said both companies have agreed to sustain their partnership for shared objectives and further discuss jointly launching a consortium and a plant in Kazakhstan to boost their partnership.

The Saengong CEO said Shin Line Group had acknowledged his company's brand power and competitiveness and expressed a strong interest in a partnership with his company.

"Saengong will support Shin Line Group from behind so the Kazakhstani company can make its presence bigger throughout the region," Kim said. "We, at the same time, anticipate our brand's global competitiveness to grow by debuting in the CIS region."

Saengong currently exports to 10 countries, including four E-Mart stores, Korea's large-scale supermarket chain in Mongolia.