Chicken, Brown Rice, and Other Diet Foods Selling Like Hotcakes
Market Kurly's Diet Lunchbox Sales Up 1256% Year-on-Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Due to the prolonged issue of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), diet-related foods are selling like hotcakes. This is because while meal portions have remained the same, exercise levels have decreased, leading to an increase in consumers planning to diet.
According to Gmarket on the 8th, the sales volume of diet-related foods in the past month (March 6 to April 5) has increased up to twice compared to the same period last year.
First, meal replacement foods are showing growth. Sales of chicken, a representative diet food, increased by 22%, and canned chicken breast, which collects only chicken breast for easy consumption, sold 29% more. Duck meat, which is plant-based fat and considered good for dieting compared to other meats, also saw sales increase by more than double (152%). Both brown rice (149%) and legumes (44%), which can replace white rice, showed an upward trend. Additionally, natto and muk increased by 4% and 35%, respectively.
Sweet potatoes, which are suitable not only as snacks but also as meal replacements, saw sales increase by 84%. Fruit sales also rose significantly by 34%. Among them, tomatoes, considered a diet food, increased by 40%, and plums, which aid digestion, rose by 34%.
Light snacks are also gaining popularity. Puff snacks grew by 35% compared to last year, and nuts rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as cashews and macadamias showed increases of 33% and 13%, respectively.
A recently spotlighted food favored by celebrities is ‘Danmato.’ Danmato is a processed product where the ‘stevioside’ component extracted from stevia is infused into tomatoes to enhance sweetness. It maintains low calories while upgrading the taste to be sweeter, making it popular among those controlling their diet.
Similar to Danmato, the Sweetel variety of snack tomatoes, which have higher sugar content than regular cherry tomatoes, are also selling well. ‘SiktagiinneunSalm Permil The Dan Snack Tomato’ is a high-sugar cherry tomato maintaining 10-11 Brix with thin skin, making it popular as a snack for children.
At Market Kurly, sales of diet-related products from March 6 to April 5 increased by 101% compared to the previous year. The sales increase of diet lunch boxes was very high at 1256%, followed by low-calorie konjac (348%) and chicken breast (157%), a representative high-protein diet ingredient.
At 11st, chicken products increased by 31% and duck meat by 91% in sales compared to the same period last year. Brown rice and germinated brown rice sold 32% more, and macadamia sales surged by 824%. Sales of cherry tomatoes, potatoes, and avocados increased by 256%, 130%, and 294%, respectively, while lentils saw a 740% increase in sales.
At SSG.com, salad and lunch box sales increased by 52% over the past month compared to last year, and diet supplements grew by 66.2%. Sales related to home training enthusiasts rose by 35% compared to the previous month. Representative products include steppers (150%), sit-up boards and home gyms (76%), barbells and dumbbells (70%), and hula hoops and jump ropes (60%).
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