CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading processed foods maker, said Wednesday it will invest 200 billion won ($176 million) to further foster its instant meal business in the next three years to meet robust consumer demands.

The affiliate of the country's food and entertainment giant CJ said it aims to post 3.6 trillion won in sales from its instant dishes, commonly referred to as home meal replacement products here, in 2020.

Its sales from the instant meal business surpassed the 1 trillion-won mark for the first time in 2016. CJ Cheiljedang expects to bask in 1.5 trillion won in revenue from the business this year, up 40 percent from the previous year.

"In the last five years, we have spent 120 billion won on developing the HMR business, a growth engine for the future," said Kang Shin-ho, vice president of CJ Cheiljedang's food business division.

The country's instant meal business has been expanding, backed by the fast-growing number of single-person households.

According to government data, the number of single-member households came to 5.28 million last year, accounting for 27.8 percent of all household types.

CJ Cheiljedang said it will be able to improve the quality of its products and price competitiveness once its new factory in the country begins partial operation late next year.

The company earlier said it will invest 540 billion won in the new complex, which will be the country's largest processed foods factory when the construction is completed in 2020. (Yonhap)