Average Daily Sales of 290,000 Units
Expecting Record Sales Due to Early Heatwave
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] "I froze it upside down, and it became a huge hit"
The sales speed of hy’s ‘Upside-Down Yakult’ (photo) is steep. It recalls customers’ experiences of freezing Yakult or tearing off the bottom part to drink, and it is also the result of being recognized as a health functional food.
Sold More Than During Peak Season
According to hy on the 18th, the ‘Upside-Down Yakult’ is selling an average of 290,000 units per day this month. The average daily sales in March this year were 240,000 units. It has already surpassed the average daily sales of 260,000 units during the peak season of July-August last year.
Launched in April 2016, this product can be eaten upside down or frozen. The package design, which places the Yakult bottle upside down, preserves Yakult’s identity while widening the opening for easy spoon consumption, enhancing convenience. The volume is also twice that of regular Yakult. It is not simply a change in packaging. About a year of research and development was conducted to maintain the same flavor whether frozen or drunk as is.
It also benefited from the ‘General Food Functionality Labeling System.’ hy’s Upside-Down Yakult is the first domestic liquid-type probiotic health functional food. Last year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety relaxed the manufacturing standards for probiotic health functional foods, which had been limited to powder form, allowing functional certification. hy received functional certification in February this year and labeled the product package with the phrase ‘MFDS Functional Certified Probiotics.’ The Upside-Down Yakult contains immune patented lactic acid bacteria (HY7712) found in kimchi, complex vitamins, and xylitol. It guarantees 10 billion CFU per product. CFU is a unit used to indicate the density of microorganisms in a sample by the number of colonies, meaning the number of lactic acid bacteria reaching the intestines. The MFDS probiotic certification standard is 100 million CFU.
Record-Breaking Sales Expected Due to Early Heatwave
On the 14th, the daytime temperature in Seoul soared to 30.8 degrees Celsius. This is a midsummer temperature typical of late July to early August, 8 degrees higher than the average. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that the nationwide daytime high temperatures would range from 20 to 31 degrees Celsius, higher than average, until the end of this month. As June progresses, there will be many days with high daytime temperatures, and an ‘early heatwave’ is expected. hy anticipates record-breaking sales for this summer’s products.
Kim Hyun-sung, hy’s marketing manager, said, "As snack consumption increases in summer, more consumers are looking for healthy snacks. Since people are spending more time at home, products that consider the health of the whole family will be chosen more often."
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