The Holiday Season in the Untact Era is Different... CJ CheilJedang's 'HMR Gift Set' Sold Out

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] CJ CheilJedang's refrigerated and frozen home meal replacement (HMR) gift sets, introduced for the first time this year, sold out completely, creating a new trend in the holiday gift set market.

CJ CheilJedang's food specialty mall CJ The Market announced on the 23rd that an analysis of data from the gift set pre-order sales period (August 17 to September 15, 30 days) showed that consumers chose 'home-cooked meals' and 'practicality.' It appears that the home dining trend has influenced the criteria for selecting holiday gifts.

Through trend analysis, CJ CheilJedang judged that HMR products would be in high demand not only for 'convenience' but also for 'taste quality' as 'practical holiday gifts,' and composed gift sets with popular products. As a result, sets such as 'Bibigo Hansangcharim,' which include products like japchae that can be used during the holidays, sold out all prepared quantities, prompting an urgent additional supply based on consumer requests.

‘Complex gift sets’ composed of various products such as Spam and cooking oil also grew significantly this year. Sales of complex gift sets increased by 128% compared to the pre-order sales period of last year's Chuseok. Notably, while none of the top five popular products last year were complex gift sets, this year they received much consumer love, ranking 2nd (Best Choice Special), 4th (Spam Premium Oil Set No. 7), and 5th (Special Choice Special THE Set).

The number of consumers purchasing gift sets online increased by about 50% compared to the same period last year. This is interpreted as a significant rise in online purchases due to the spread of non-face-to-face consumption trends and increased demand for conveniently purchasing reasonable gift sets.

Additionally, the quantity and amount of gift sets purchased per consumer decreased by approximately 17% and 10%, respectively. In a gift set-related survey conducted by CJ CheilJedang last month with 1,000 consumers nationwide, 3 out of 10 respondents said they would reduce the number of gift recipients due to economic difficulties.

A CJ CheilJedang official emphasized, “Thanks to the strong sales of HMR gift sets and complex gift sets, CJ The Market's pre-order sales revenue increased by 35% compared to last year. We will continue to strive to introduce ‘consumer-tailored’ holiday gift sets through meticulous trend analysis.”