'Ajjaeipmat' Food Popularity... Emart Sees Increase in Sales of Red Beans and Gotgam

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Due to the 'Newtro' (new retro) trend, so-called 'Ajae taste' (middle-aged men’s taste) foods are gaining popularity even in large supermarkets.

Emart announced on the 29th that since launching the 'Ang Butter Monttang' made with French gourmet butter in June last year, it has sold a cumulative total of 250,000 units.

Ang Butter is a dessert containing red bean 'ang' paste and 'butter' as filling ingredients. It has been very popular over the past 2 to 3 years.

Sales of yanggaeng, traditionally considered a classic Korean confectionery, grew by 48.1% from the same period last year between the 1st and 27th of this month. This product category also showed a growth rate of 17.2% during the same period last year.

During the same period, monaka sales increased by 35.6%, and sales of red bean-filled bungeoppang (fish-shaped bread) rose by 8.7%. Red bean-filled fish-shaped ice cream also saw a 4.2% increase in sales.

As of the 27th of this month, sales of dried persimmons at Emart increased by 82.3%. It is interpreted that their chewy texture and sweet taste, combined with the functionality of a fruit snack, contributed to their popularity. In particular, Seol (Lunar New Year) gift sets grew by 128.2% during this period, and regular dried persimmon products also grew by 26.3%.

'Gulbi' (dried yellow corvina fish) is also attracting attention. Thanks to new Seol gift sets such as the 'Lotus Leaf Gulbi Set,' which eliminates the fishy smell unique to gulbi, the new rice thief 'Gochujang Gulbi,' and 'Gulbi Chae,' developed as side dishes and drinking snacks, sales of gulbi increased by 143.4% from the same period last year between the 1st and 27th of this month.

Kim Gyojin, Emart’s fruit buyer, said, "As traditional food categories are emotionally reinterpreted, the age range of demand is expanding. Since dried persimmons received a good response this Seol as well, we plan to develop various products based on this to further expand demand."