It's squishy, bland and healthy--but can tofu entice?

Tofu? Ick!

That's the typical reaction of those who have no idea what to do with those little white blocks of soybean curd that usually come in white plastic containers sitting in pools of yellow water.

Do you fry it? Slice it? Microwave it? Eat it with a spoon? Is it even edible?

To be sure, tofu has a public relations problem.

South Korean tofu maker Pulmuone USA Inc., which last month moved to Fullerton from South Gate in September, is on a mission to spice up tofu's image. The company wants to make tofu sexy, even cool.

"Everyone is the target market," said John Sim, Pulmuone's sales director.

Pulmuone (pronounced "pull-moo-one") is starting the image makeover with its own awkward sounding name. It is likely to take on its "mainstream" brand name--Soga. Simple. Easy to say.

The company will remain Pulmuone in South Korea, where it counts yearly sales of about $400 million. Here Pulmuone's sales are about $15 million a year.

One of tofu's biggest obstacles in the United States is that many consumers don't know how to prepare it. So Pulmuone is making the product more inviting by introducing preseasoned products that include marinated and grilled tofu in flavors such as Santa Fe chili and lime and Sicilian tomato basil. Other products include Furee soy smoothies and Healthy Tender meat alternatives.

Pulmuone isn't the first to tackle the U.S. market.

Orange County also is home to the U.S. arm of Japan's House Foods Corp., another large tofu maker with 128,700 square feet in Garden Grove. House Foods, with estimated yearly U.S. sales of $30 million, offers grilled tofu steaks flavored with garlic and pepper. It even offers tofu desserts.

House Foods got into the U.S. market early, when it bought half of Matsuda Hinode Tofu Co. in 1983. Matsuda produced what is billed as the first packaged tofu in 1958, which was sold in Boy's Market in Los Angeles. House, which bought the rest of Matsuda in 1993, is set to open a new factory in New Jersey in 2005.

Sim notes that marketing efforts stand to increase consumer awareness and tofu consumption. "We don't try to undercut each other," he said.

Double-digit growth

Pulmuone was founded in South Korea in 1981 and came to California in 1991. The company recently moved to a 92,000 square foot facility near Fullerton's border with Buena Park. Fullerton is a hub for Koreans, who make up a good portion of the city's 16 percent Asian population.

Pulmuone's new $15 million factory is so automated that only six people are needed to run it. No human hands touch the product. Before entering, factory workers pass through what looks like a metal detector to get dusted off. The plant pumps out 86,000 tofu packs a shift and runs Monday through Friday.

The biggest expense was for packaging machines. Package design is key to boosting tofu's image; the company makes about 20 different products all with different designs. Pulmuone's traditional Asian packaging is more informational with text in simple fonts and basic colors. The new packages are more eye-catching with bolder fonts and brighter colors.

As for the tofu itself, it starts with soybeans that are grown in the Midwest. They are cooked in a steam kettle and the fiber is extracted, which allows the tofu to form. It is then cut into size and packaged. Pulmuone contracts out for its beans.

Pulmuone's goal is to develop at least 15 new products a year, Sim said. Plain water packed tofu is considered a commodity, so Pulmuone is focusing on prepared tofu, which earns higher profits, he said.

Tofu makers may be making some headway with their new offerings. Seasoned tofu is selling five times faster than the plain variety, according to Peter Golbitz, president of Soyatech Inc., a publishing and marketing research firm in Bar Harbor, Maine. Tofu's overall U.S. sales last year were $250 million, which were up 2.8 percent from a year earlier.

Soy foods, which include tofu, have had double-digit growth in the past 10 years. Soy foods include veggie burgers made from soy and soy milk. Last year, U.S. sales of soy foods were $3.6 billion, according to Soyatech. Soy milk is the largest category. Its sales have grown from $100 million in 1995 to $550 million in 2001, according to Soyatech.

While Pulmuone has a research and marketing department, all its U.S. workers are expected to know how tofu is selling on store shelves. By 2007, the company is shooting for $100 million in yearly U.S. sales. Last year, sales here grew by 30 percent.